Zimbabwe Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe
former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia
etymology: takes its name from the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (13th-15th century) and its capital of Great Zimbabwe, the largest stone structure in pre-colonial southern Africa
Government type:
semi-presidential republic
Capital:
Name: Harare sister city to Cincinnati
geographic coordinates: 17 49 S, 31 02 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Sister City Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Administrative divisions:
8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands
Independence:
18 April 1980 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
Constitution:
previous 1965 (at Rhodesian independence), 1979 (Lancaster House Agreement), 1980 (at Zimbabwean independence); latest final draft completed January 2013, approved by referendum 16 March 2013, approved by Parliament 9 May 2013; amended many times in 2013; note – significant amendments proposed in early 2015 (2016)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law, and customary law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Zimbabwe; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Chief of state: Executive President Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA (24 November 2017);
Vice Presidents ; Incumbent Constantino Chiwenga (First) and Kembo Mohadi (Second) since 28 December 2017
Head of government: Executive President Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA (24 November 2017);; note – following the 31 July 2013 presidential election, the position of prime minister was abolished
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to House of Assembly
elections/appointments: each presidential candidate nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least 10 registered voters (at least 1 candidate from each province) and directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limits);
election last held on 31 July 2013 (next to be held in 2018); co-vice presidents drawn from party leadership
Legislative branch:
description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (80 seats; 60 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies – 6 seats in each of the 10 provinces – by proportional representation vote, 16 indirectly elected by the regional governing councils, 2 reserved for the National Council Chiefs, and 2 reserved for members with disabilities; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Assembly (270 seats) members of the House of Assembly consist of 210 members elected in single-member constituencies and 60 women elected by proportional representation in ten six-seat constituencies based on the country’s provinces. Voters cast a single vote, which is counted for both forms of election. The 80 members of the Senate include 60 members elected from ten six-member constituencies (also based on the provinces) by proportional representation using party lists; the lists must have a woman at the top and alternate between men and women. The other 20 seats include two reserved for people with disabilities and 18 for traditional chiefs.
elections: last held in 2018
election results: On 3 August, the Commission declared incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa the winner after receiving 2,460,463 (50.8%) votes to Nelson Chamisa’s 2,147,436 (44.3%).[38]
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 4 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president upon recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, an independent body consisting of the chief justice, Public Service Commission chairman, attorney general, and 2-3 members appointed by the president; judges normally serve until age 65 but can elect to serve until age 70
subordinate courts: High Court, regional magistrate courts, and special courts
Political parties and leaders:
Freedom Party [Cosmas MPONDA]
Movement for Democratic Change – Ncube or MDC-N [Welshman NCUBE]
Movement for Democratic Change – Renewal or MDC-R [Sekai HOLLAND]; note – has been kicked out of Parliament as of 17 May 2015
Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai or MDC-T [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]
Transform Zimbabwe or TZ [Jacob NGARIVHUME]
United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]
Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Wilson KUMBULA]
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]
Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Dumiso DABENGWA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]
Women of Zimbabwe Arise or WOZA [Jenni WILLIAMS]
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Japhet MOYO]
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights or ZLHR [Irene PETRAS]
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ammon MUTEMBWA (since 18 November 2014)
chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100
FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Harry THOMAS (since 25 February 2016)
embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare
telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 through 250-594
FAX: [263] (4) 796-488, or 722-618
Flag description:
seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle, which symbolizes peace; green represents agriculture, yellow mineral wealth, red the blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people
National symbol(s):
Zimbabwe bird symbol, African fish eagle, flame lily; national colors: green, yellow, red, black, white
National anthem:
name: “Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe” [Northern Ndebele language] “Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe” [Shona] (Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe)
lyrics/music: Solomon MUTSWAIRO/Fred Lecture CHANGUNDEGA
note: adopted 1994