Fadzayi Mahere, a former lawmaker for Mount Pleasant, has been accused of betraying her constituency following her resignation from Parliament in solidarity with Nelson Chamisa, the former leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party. Chamisa left the party claiming it had been infiltrated and hijacked by the ruling ZANU PF party and its allies within CCC. Mahere followed suit and resigned from parliament, leaving her constituency without representation.
Political analysts have scrutinised Mahere’s decision, viewing it as a betrayal of the voters who elected her. Eldred Masunungure, a Political Science lecturer from the University of Zimbabwe, criticised Mahere for prioritising loyalty to individuals over the constituency that had placed its faith in her. He told NewsHub:
Unless she knows what most people don’t, it appears to be a knee-jerk, stampeded decision not grounded in a reflective analysis. That’s the tragedy of loyalty to personalities rather than institutions.
She would have gained a lot of political and moral mileage if she had waited to be recalled by the dark forces rather than recalling herself and giving the impression of utter and callous disregard for her constituency and orphaning the thousands who braved the harsh political environment to go out to vote for a candidate of their choice.
Stephen Chan, a world politics professor at the University of London, also criticised Mahere’s resignation, stating that elected representatives have a responsibility to their constituents above party loyalty. He he said:
Resignations from parliament are an abdication of responsibility to constituents. They (the electorate) come first. The party comes second. The party leader comes third. This is the essence of democratic representation. If people voted for you, you have a responsibility to those voters.
The resignation has further weakened the opposition in parliament. By-elections held in December and subsequent mini-elections have depleted the CCC’s numbers, giving the ruling ZANU PF party a two-thirds majority. This leaves the opposition at a disadvantage and diminishes their ability to act as an effective parliamentary opposition.
There are differing opinions on Mahere’s decision. Some argue that she had valid reasons to resign, as the party she was elected under no longer aligned with her beliefs. Others question whether the remaining members of parliament are truly representing their constituents or betraying them by staying in a party they disagree with.
Several lawmakers from the CCC party have spoken out in support of Nelson Chamisa, the former party leader who recently quit without informing them in advance. However, despite their sympathy towards Chamisa, these legislators have not resigned from parliament yet. One of the few lawmakers who has taken action is Allan Markham, who won the Harare East seat as a member of the CCC in the previous year
Source: Pindula
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