The Government of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe - Government

Based on the etymolgy of Zimbabwe, it was 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. The Government system in this country is the presidential republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands

National symbols

Zimbabwe bird symbol, African fish eagle, flame lily; national colors: green, yellow, red, black, white.

The flag

The National flag of Zimbabwe has seven equal horizontal bands of green (top), 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.

The National Anthem

Title	"Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe" [Northern Ndebele language] "Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe" [Shona] (Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe)
Lyric/music	Solomon MUTSWAIRO/Fred Lecture CHANGUNDEGA

note: adopted 1994

More about the government of Zimbabwe

Constitution
Date of Independence	18 April 1980 (from the UK)
National holiday	Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
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
History	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, effective 22 May 2013
Amendments	Proposed by the Senate or by the National Assembly; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by the membership of both houses of Parliament and assent of the president of the republic; amendments to constitutional chapters on fundamental human rights and freedoms and on agricultural lands also require approval by a majority of votes cast in a referendum; amended many times, last in 2017
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
Executive Branch
Chief of state	President Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA (since 4 September 2023)
Head of government	Vice President Constantino CHIWENGA (since 11 September 2023)
Cabinet	Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to National 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 23 August 2023 (next to be held in 2028); co-vice presidents drawn from party leadership
Election results	2023: Emmerson MNANGAGWA reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Emmerson MNANGAGWA (ZANU-PF) 52.6%, Nelson CHAMISA (MDC-T) 44%, Wilbert MUBAIWA (NPC) 1.2%, other 2.2% 2018: Emmerson MNANGAGWA elected president in first round; percent of vote - Emmerson MNANGAGWA (ZANU-PF) 50.7%, Nelson CHAMISA (MDC-T) 44.4%, Thokozani KHUPE (MDC-N) 0.9%, other 4%
Legislative branch
Description	Bicameral Parliament consists of: 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, 18 reserved for the National Council Chiefs, and 2 reserved for members with disabilities; members serve 5-year terms) National Assembly (280 seats; 210 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 60 seats reserved for women directly elected by proportional representation vote and 10 additional seats reserved for candidates aged between 21 and 35 directly elected by proportional representation, members serve 5-year terms)
Elections	Senate - last held for elected member on 23 August 2023 (next to be held in 2028) National Assembly - last held on 23 August 2023 (next to be held in 2028); note: a by-election was held on 11 November 2023 due to the death of a candidate during the August general election; a special by election was held on 9 December 2023 after nine opposition lawmakers were removed from their seats and disqualified from running again; another by-election was held 3 February 2024 for six open seats
Election results	Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ZANU-PF 33, CCC- 27, Chiefs 18, people with disabilities 2; composition - men 36, women 35, percentage of women 49.3% National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ZANU-PF 190, CCC-93; composition - men 192, women 75, percentage women 28.1%; total Parliament percentage women 32.5%
Judicial branch
Highest court(s)	Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 4 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the chief and deputy chief justices and 9 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; Constitutional Court judge appointment NA; judges serve nonrenewable 15-year terms
Subordinate courts	High Court; Labor Court; Administrative Court; regional magistrate courts; customary law courts; special courts
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador Tadeous Tafirenyika CHIFAMBA (since 7 July 2021)
Chancery	1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
Telephone	[1] (202) 332-7100
FAX	[1] (202) 483-9326
Email address and website	[email protected] https://zimembassydc.org/
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Elaine M. FRENCH (since August 2022)
Embassy	2 Lorraine Drive, Bluffhill, Harare
Mailing address	2180 Harare Place, Washington DC 20521-2180
Telephone	[263] 867-701-1000
FAX	[263] 24-233-4320
Email address and website	[email protected] https://zw.usembassy.gov/
National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites	5 (3 cultural, 2 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales	Mana Pools National Park, Sapi, and Chewore Safari Areas (n); Great Zimbabwe National Monument (c); Khami Ruins National Monument (c); Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls (n); Matobo Hills (c)