The following is the full text of the petition:

TO: Mr Robert Gabriel Mugabe-ZANU PF 1st Secretary and President

FROM: MDC Senators and Legislators, Harvest House, Harare

DATE: 26 August 2008

We, the undersigned members of the Movement for Democratic Change elected both to the Senate and the House of Assembly declare that:

1. This official opening of the 7th Parliament of Zimbabwe is a clear breach of the Memorandum of Understanding and is therefore of no force and effect.

2. The purported opening by Mugabe, the illegitimate usurper of the people’s will as reflected on 29 March 2008, is illegal and of no force and effect.

3. For the avoidance of doubt, the only person who can officially open this session of Parliament will be determined by the outcome of the on-going dialogue sponsored by SADC.

4. The appointment of Senators and governors by Mugabe is an affront to the MOU and a fraud on the people of Zimbabwe, which wrongfully and unlawfully was designed to affect and did affect the election of both the President and Vice President of the Senate.

5. The continued harassment, arrest of MDC legislators and activists by members of the police and related security institutions is a direct affront to the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

6. The people of Zimbabwe await anxiously for the resolution of the SADC-brokered dialogue in order that the humanitarian crisis they face is urgently and immediately addressed.