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Mugabe's party to launch impeachment process tomorrow: MP

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AFP Harare
Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party will launch the parliamentary process tomorrow for impeaching President Robert Mugabe, a government lawmaker has said.

The decision today came after Mugabe missed a deadline to resign given to him by his party over the weekend.

Once a simple majority of parliamentarians vote for impeachment, an investigative committee is formed by lawmakers, who report back to both houses of parliament. Each house must then vote by a two-thirds majority for him to be stripped of office.

"We are expecting the motion to be over (tomorrow)," ZANU- PF lawmaker Paul Mangwana told AFP, referring to the initial procedure to commence impeachment proceedings.
 

He added that ZANU-PF had approached the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party to seek their cooperation to pass the necessary parliamentary votes.

In a televised address late yesterday, the 93-year-old veteran leader defied expectations he would quit, pitching the country into a second week of political crisis.

The speech provoked anger and disbelief among many Zimbabweans, fuelling concerns that Mugabe could face a violent backlash.

Zimbabwe's crisis erupted on November 13 after a factional squabble over the presidential succession erupted into the open prompting the army to seize power.

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First Published: Nov 20 2017 | 8:57 PM IST

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