The original Senate consisted of 40 members, the majority of whom were elected by the House of Assembly (the directly elected lower chamber), with the remainder being chosen by the Council of Chiefs and appointed by the President.

[5] The re-established Senate, formed following the elections held on 26 November 2005, had a total of 66 members.

50 members (5 from each province) were directly elected in single-member constituencies using the First-past-the-post system.

The President appointed 6 additional members and the remaining 10 seats were held by traditional chiefs who were chosen in separate elections.

Additionally the Senate consists of 2 seats for each non-metropolitan provinces of Zimbabwe elected by each provincial assembly of chiefs using SNTV,[7] 1 seat each for the president and deputy president of the National Council of Chiefs and 1 male and 1 female seat for people with disabilities elected on separate ballots using FPTP by an electoral college designated by the National Disability Board.