Lord Richard Cecil well established links with Rhodesia, the capital city of which was named Salisbury after the third Marquess (it was renamed Harare in 1982 on the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence). The family had extensive land holdings in the country and the fifth Marquess (Lord Richard's grandfather) was a leading British supporter of the white minority UDI government that ruled Rhodesia from 1965-1979. Lord Richard was the eldest of the younger brothers of Robert Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, who has been both an MP and the Leader of the House of Lords. In 2003, Cranborne became 7th Marquess of Salisbury upon the
2008 Zimbabwean general election not be accepted. According to Chinamasa, speaking to the press in Harare on 11 May, the newly elected MPs would not be sworn in until after the second round of the presidential election. Reportedly, twenty ZANU-PF lawmakers have joined the opposition; if that is true, they will have to face by-elections, as crossing the floor automatically causes a by-election to be called for the respective constituency under Zimbabwean electoral law. In response to the delay in the sitting of the new Parliament, the MDC held a symbolic meeting of MDC MPs at a conference center in Harare on 30 May.