Zimbabwe’s laws do not expressly address a situation where a party withdraws it’s members from Parliament, except when it’s a recall.
There are two ways, however, in which Parliamentarians belonging to the Citizens Coalition for Change can pull out of Parliament.
According to Section 129 (b) of the Constitution they can resign in writing to the President of the Senate or Speaker of the National Assembly.
Or they can, according to Section 129 (f) just boycott Parliament. In this case if, without leave from the Speaker or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, the Member is absent from the House of which he or she is a member for twenty-one consecutive days on which the House sits, and the House concerned resolves by a vote of at least one-half of its total Membership that the seat should become vacant, the MP will cease to be one.
What happens after an MP pulls out of:
- National Assembly
1. Parliament declares seats vacant
2. Within 14 days, President sets a date for elections in vacant constituencies
3. Elections are held within 90 days
- Senate
The Electoral Act sets out the provisions of replacing a Senator whose seat has become vacant in Section 39. In the event of a vacancy occurring among the party-list members of the Senate or of the National Assembly, otherwise than through a dissolution of Parliament:
- the President of the Senate or the Speaker, as the case may be, shall notify the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the vacancy, in writing, as soon as possible after he or she becomes aware of it.
- the Commission shall without delay—(a) notify the public of the vacancy by notice in the Gazette ; and (b) invite the political party in writing to submit the name of a qualified person to fill the vacancy.
- The Chief Elections Officer shall inform the office-bearers concerned that the papers are in order or request them to make such corrections or alterations to, or supply such clarifications in connection with, the nomination paper as are required in the interests of accuracy and ensuring conformity with this Act.
- Upon the Chief Elections Officer being satisfied that the nomination paper is in order, the Commission shall without delay—
- (a) notify the public of the nomination to fill the vacancy by notice in the Gazette; and
- (b) afford any person who is a voter to lodge any written objection (together with reasons for the objection) to the nomination within a specified time from the date of publication of the notice in the Gazette.
- As soon as possible after the last day for the lodging of objections in terms of subsection the Commission shall—
- (a) if no objection to the party-list candidate has been received or, having considered every objection received, it finds that there are no valid grounds for objecting to the candidature, notify the public by notice in the Gazette that the person nominated to fill the vacancy has been appointed as a Senator or member of the National Assembly (as the case may be) with effect from the date of the notice; or
- (b) having considered every objection received, and having found that there are valid grounds for objecting to the candidature, afford the political party concerned to make representations on the matter.
- If, having considered any representations of the political party received, the Commission is still of the view that there are valid grounds for objecting to the candidature, the Commission shall restart the process until a qualified person is identified to fill the vacancy concerned.
Conclusion
If the CCC parliamentarians pull out of Parliament, what follows would depend on whether they formally resign or just boycott for twenty consecutive days. If they resign, the process will begin to replace them but if they boycott it will have to be for twenty one consecutive sittings, then the majority of the MPs would have to vote to declare their seats vacant, before the process of replacing them can be initiated.
