7th Parliament of Zimbabwe Mugabe announced his intention to open Parliament in the subsequent week, five months after the parliamentary election was held. Due to ongoing negotiations over the disputed election, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai party saw this as unacceptable, with MDC–T Secretary-General Tendai Biti stating that it would "be a clear repudiation of the Memorandum of Understanding, and an indication beyond reasonable doubt of ZANU–PF's unwillingness to continue to be part of the talks. In short, convening Parliament decapitates the dialogue." Nevertheless, Parliament was convened on 25 August 2008. That morning, Mugabe appointed 11 senators, including eight of the
Isaac Matongo Isaac Matongo Isaac Matongo (12 March 1947 – 2 May 2007) was a Zimbabwean politician and labor activist, born in Fort Victoria, Southern Rhodesia. Matongo was elected vice-president of the National Engineering Workers' Union in 1988, eventually serving in the same position with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. He was the founding chairman of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is now the main opposition to the ZANU-PF party led by Robert Mugabe. He was critical of Mugabe for ruining the country's agriculture. He died on 2 May 2007 of suspected heart failure. He was survived by his