The fate of President Robert Mugabe will be decided today as the Zimbabwean parliament meets to consider his impeachment proceedings.
President Robert Mugabe
President Robert Mugabe is facing his worst political situation in 37 years as the leader of Zimbabwe, as the two chambers of parliaments were due to begin impeachment proceedings against him on Tuesday.
This is the first time such move is taking place in the Southern African country.
According to CNN, a joint sitting of the Senate and National Assembly is scheduled to begin today.
The ruling party, ZANU-PF, plans to table a motion that will begin the process of formally removing the president who has been clinging on to the presidency despite a military takeover last week.
ZANU-PF, which Mugabe co-founded and led for decades, ousted the 93-year-old leader as their party chief on Sunday and gave him an ultimatum to step down in 24 hours or face impeachment.
The former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has joined those calling for Mugabe to stand down, in his first comments since the President fired him on November 6, triggering the political firestorm.
Mugabe called a cabinet meeting for Tuesday morning, but most members didn’t show up, state media reported, in a further indication that his authority was ebbing away.
The party had set a deadline for midday Monday for Mugabe to resign or face impeachment.
The former vice president’s statement offered no clues about his location. Mnangagwa was named as ZANU-PF’s new party chief on Sunday, paving the way for him to contest the 2018 presidential elections.
-NAN