The National Assembly of Zimbabwe, previously the House of Assembly until 2013, is the lower house of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. It was established upon Zimbabwe's

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

in 1980 as one of two chambers of parliament. Between the abolition of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

in 1989 and its reestablishment in 2005, the House of Assembly was the sole chamber of parliament. Since the 2013 election, the National Assembly has had 270 members. Of these, 210 are elected in single-member constituencies. The last 60 seats are reserved for women, and are elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

in 10 six-seat constituencies based on the country's

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. On election day, each voter casts a single ballot, and this is used to assign seats to the parties for both types of seat. Jacob Mudenda has been Speaker of the National Assembly since September 2013.

History

Under the 1980 Constitution, 20 of the 100 seats in the House of Assembly were reserved for the country's white minority, although whites and other ethnic minorities made up only 5% of the population at the time. These seats were abolished by

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

in 1987. This size of 100 seats was used for two elections, the 1980 election held immediately before independence and the 1985 election. The 1990 election was the first election after the abolition of the white-reserved seats, and also expanded the House of Assembly to 120 seats, a size which was retained for the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

and 2000 elections. With the 2005 election, the House of Assembly was expanded to 150 members. 120 members were directly elected in single member

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polit ...

using the plurality (or

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

) system. The President appointed twelve additional members and eight provincial governors who held reserved seats in the House. The remaining ten seats were held by traditional chiefs who were chosen by their peers. All members served five-year terms. Following the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are no ...

, the House of Assembly was expanded to 210 seats and composed entirely of elected representatives.Carole Gombakomba
"Zimbabwe's Mugabe Finalizes Constitutional Amendment On Elections"
VOA News, November 1, 2007. The appointed and ''ex officio'' members were transferred to the Senate. The Seventh House of Assembly was opened on August 26, 2008. The additional system of 60 seats reserved for women was established for the 2013 election.

References

{{Authority control Government of Zimbabwe

History

See also

References