Related Research Articles
Until roughly 2,000 years ago, what would become Zimbabwe was populated by ancestors of the San people. Bantu inhabitants of the region arrived and developed ceramic production in the area. A series of trading empires emerged, including the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and Kingdom of Zimbabwe. In the 1880s, the British South Africa Company began its activities in the region, leading to the colonial era in Southern Rhodesia.
There were widespread reports of systematic and escalating violations of human rights in Zimbabwe under the regime of Robert Mugabe and his party, ZANU-PF, between 1980 and 2017.
Tendai Laxton Biti is a Zimbabwean politician who served as Finance Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He is the current Member of Parliament for Harare East Constituency and the second Vice President of Citizens Coalition for Change. He was the Secretary-General of the Movement for Democratic Change and the subsequent Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) political parties and a Member of Parliament for Harare East until he was expelled from the party and recalled from parliament in mid-2014,before winning the seat again in 2018.
Thokozani Khuphe is a Zimbabwean politician, trade unionist and the President of the MDC-T breakaway faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). She was Deputy Prime Minister 2009-13.
Zimbabwe began experiencing a period of considerable political and economic upheaval in 1999. Opposition to President Mugabe and the ZANU-PF government grew considerably after the mid-1990s in part due to worsening economic and human rights conditions. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was established in September 1999 as an opposition party founded by trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai.
Campaigning for the first round of the presidential election held in Zimbabwe on 29 March 2008 took place from February to March. There were three major candidates: President Robert Mugabe of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, and the independent candidate Simba Makoni.
Tonderai Ndira was a Zimbabwe and a Movement for Democratic Change party member murdered in May 2008.
This article gives details about the vote counting system for the 2008 Zimbabwe presidential election
The events of the first and second rounds of the Zimbabwean presidential election, which Robert Mugabe of ZANU-PF won on 27 June 2008 after his challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), withdrew from the process and declared it illegitimate, caused reactions from many international bodies. Other Zimbabwean groups have denounced the poll as well
The second round of voting in the Zimbabwean presidential election of 2008 was held between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai after the first round failed to produce a 50% majority for either candidate. The election process was marred by violence against and intimidation of voters and party workers, which eventually led to the withdrawal of Tsvangirai from the poll. This left Mugabe as the winner of, effectively, a one-candidate election.
The 2008–2009 Zimbabwean political negotiations between the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, its small splinter group, the Movement for Democratic Change – Mutambara, and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front were intended to negotiate an end to the partisan violence and human rights violations in Zimbabwe and create a framework for a power-sharing executive government between the two parties. These negotiations followed the 2008 presidential election, in which Mugabe was controversially re-elected, as well as the 2008 parliamentary election, in which the MDC won a majority in the House of Assembly.
Before its split in 2005, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was a Zimbabwean political party organised under the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai. The MDC was formed in 1999 as an opposition party to President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF). The MDC was made up of many civic groups who campaigned for the "No" vote in the 2000 constitutional referendum, which would limit a president's service to two terms, before the introduction of a prime minister, as well as giving legal immunities to the State. However, as the term limit was not retroactive, Mugabe could still have maintained the presidency for two more terms. The most controversial part of the constitution was the land reform policies. It stated that, as in the Lancaster House Agreement, Britain would fund land reform from white settlers to landless black peasants. If Britain failed to compensate the farmers, the government would take the farms, without compensation. The party split over whether to contest the 2005 senate election, into the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T), the larger party led by Morgan Tsvangirai, and the Movement for Democratic Change – Ncube, a smaller faction then led by Arthur Mutambara and later led by Welshman Ncube. However, the two factions formed an electoral pact for the 2018 Zimbabwean general election called the MDC Alliance and re-united under the original name, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), in September 2018.
The Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) is a centre-left political party and was the main opposition party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections. After the split of the original Movement for Democratic Change in 2005, the MDC–T remained the major opposition faction, while a smaller faction, the Movement for Democratic Change – Ncube, or MDC–N, was led by Welshman Ncube.
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was President of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), and a key figure in the opposition to former President Robert Mugabe.
Sekai Holland is the former Zimbabwean Co-Minister of State for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration in the Cabinet of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Sekai has been involved in a number of human rights issues, from those of the Australian Aborigines, ending the apartheid system in South Africa, the rights of women and democracy in Zimbabwe.
Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai was a prominent figure in Zimbabwean politics as a notable member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) political party, and was the wife of Morgan Tsvangirai, former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. She has been described as being a mother figure for the country, providing strength behind the scenes.
Presidential elections were held in Zimbabwe between 9 and 11 March 2002. The elections were contested by the incumbent president Robert Mugabe, Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, ZANU–Ndonga leader Wilson Kumbula, Shakespeare Maya of the National Alliance for Good Governance and independent candidate Paul Siwela. Although Mugabe won with 56.2% of the vote, it was the closest presidential election to date. Several members of the opposition party were murdered by the government in state sanctioned assassinations. Three members of Parliament, who were members of the opposition were assaulted by soldiers and police offices in what appeared to be a targeted attack ordered by the government. Amnesty International wrote "Freedom of expression came under increasing restrictions during the year. Journalists and lawyers were arbitrarily detained, beaten, tortured and threatened for reporting on political or human rights issues or representing the victims of human rights violations." The same report added "Zondiwa Dumukani, a 32-year-old driver working at the Blackfordby farm in Waterfalls on the outskirts of Harare, was reportedly beaten to death by a group of eight "war veterans" and ZANU-PF youths. According to reports, police officers in the area ignored the assault and did not try to intervene." During the build up to the election Zimbabwean human rights groups reported forty-eight deaths of opposition members caused by state violence. During the same period, Zimbabwean human rights groups reported "333 cases of torture and 533 of unlawful arrest or detention" noting that " In almost all cases, the victims are supporters of the MDC, farmworkers, farmers, and civil society activists such as students and trade unionists." Although the Organisation of African Unity described the election as "transparent, credible, free and fair", the conduct of the election was strongly condemned by the Commonwealth, Norwegian observers, Zimbabwean opposition figures, the governments of Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Botswana, Malawi, India, Sri Lanka, Lesotho, Jamaica, Belize, Grenada as well as Western governments and media. Zimbabwe was consequently suspended from the Commonwealth for a year. However, France, as led by Jacques Chirac made a conscious decision to try and form an alliance with Mugabe in the wake of these events, leading to condemnation from other western governments. Chirac invited Mugabe to a conference in Paris shortly after the election, where Mugabe was lavishly hosted by the French government. The UK had previously tried to get the European Union to deny Mugabe the right to come to Europe, citing human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said it was "a slap in the face for the French Government or any government in Europe to be accommodating him." Ministers were said to be "furious" at the prospect of Grace Mugabe, the President's wife, returning to the stricken country with "crates of luxury goods" while Zimbabwe was in the middle of a self-inflicted crisis that resulted in mass starvation. A British minister remarked "The thought of Mugabe gorging himself on French food while his people starve is morally repugnant." The French government paid for Robert and Grace Mugabe to stay at the five-star Plaza Athénée Hotel. About the meeting the U.S. publication the Washington Post wrote: "Who would be irresponsible enough to lend legitimacy to Mugabe, a man whose brutal land-seizure tactics have reduced much of Zimbabwe to starvation? But you have probably guessed the answer: It is that friend of liberty, fraternity and equality -- the president of France."
General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 31 July 2013. Incumbent President Robert Mugabe was re-elected, whilst his ZANU–PF party won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.
General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 29 March 2008 to elect the President and Parliament. Because of Zimbabwe's dire economic situation, the elections were expected to provide incumbent President Robert Mugabe with his toughest electoral challenge to date. Mugabe's opponents were critical of the handling of the electoral process, and the government was accused of planning to rig the election. Human Rights Watch said that the election was likely to be "deeply flawed."
References
- ↑ "Zimbabwe's government responds with violence", International Herald Tribune, April 8, 2007
- ↑ "Journalist's death probed as murder", Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2007
- ↑ "Zimbabwe journalist murdered 'over leaked Tsvangirai pictures'", The Independent, April 4, 2007
- ↑ "In Zimbabwe, Mugabe Critics Face Beatings", New York Times, April 8, 2007
- ↑ "La presse mondiale, réunie au Cap, condamne la répression au Zimbabwe" Archived 2012-02-12 at the Wayback Machine , World Association of Newspapers, June 5, 2007
- ↑ "IFJ Condemns Callous Murder of Journalist in Zimbabwe" Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine , International Federation of Journalists, April 5, 2007
- ↑ "Zimbabwe journalist murdered 'over leaked Tsvangirai pictures'", The Independent, April 4, 2007
- ↑ "UN 'regrets' Zimbabwe election", BBC, June 28, 2008