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The Zimbabwe Unity Movement, was a short lived political movement in Zimbabwe. It served as a successor and link to the Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe. Edgar Tekere ran as Presidential Candidate in the 1990 Zimbabwean Presidential election, against Robert Mugabe.
Tekere supported Mugabe at the 1985 elections but by October 1988 his consistent criticism of corruption resulted in his expulsion from the party. When Mugabe voiced his belief that Zimbabwe would be better governed as a one-party state, Tekere strongly disagreed, saying "A one-party state was never one of the founding principles of ZANU-PF and experience in Africa has shown that it brought the evils of nepotism, corruption and inefficiency." [1]
In 1989, Tekere established the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), challenging Mugabe in the 1990 elections without success. [2] His economic platform including offering a broadly free market against Mugabe's centralized economic planning. Tekere received unprecedented support for his opposition to Mugabe, prompting the ZANU to engage in voter suppression, violence, and harassment. [3] Incidents included a fatal attack on two ZUM representatives in Karoi. Intimidation was employed throughout regions of Zimbabwe where ZANU encountered substantial opposition from ZUM. Conversely, in areas like Masvingo Province in southern Zimbabwe, where ZANU had solidified its base through beneficial relationships and the provision of social services, the political climate was relatively calm with minimal reports of election-related violence. During the election on 1 April 1990, Mugabe received 2,026,976 votes, compared to the 413,840 (16% of the vote) received by Tekere. [4]
At the simultaneous Parliamentary elections the ZUM won 20% of the vote but only two seats in the House of Assembly. Zimbabwe Unity Movement supporters were the targets of violent attacks from supporters of ZANU (PF) and five candidates were murdered. A student representative Israel Mutanhaurwa of ZUM was abducted in broad daylight by suspected state agents at the local cinemas in Gweru to be dumped unharmed on the outskirts of Mkoba a local suburb.[ citation needed ] No-one was arrested or convicted of the crime. Those convicted of the attempted murder of former Gweru Mayor Patrick Kombayi who was shot in lower abdomen but survived the shooting, were pardoned immediately afterwards [ citation needed ].
The politics of Zimbabwe occurs in a society deeply divided along lines of race, ethnicity, gender and geography. The ZANU–PF party has historically been dominant in Zimbabwe politics. The party, which was led by Robert Mugabe from 1980 to 2017, has used the powers of the state to intimidate, imprison and otherwise hobble political opposition in Zimbabwe, as well as use state funds and state media to advance the interests of the party.
The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years by Robert Mugabe, first as prime minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as president from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF, until 2017, when he was removed as leader.
Ndabaningi Sithole was the founder of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant, nationalist organisation that opposed the government of Rhodesia, in July 1963. Sithole's father was Ndau and his mother was Ndebele. He worked as a United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ) minister. He spent 10 years in prison after the government banned ZANU. A rift along tribal lines split ZANU in 1975, and he lost the 1980 elections to Robert Mugabe.
Edgar Zivanai Tekere, nicknamed "2 Boy", was a Zimbabwean politician. He was the second and last Secretary General of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) who organised the party during the Lancaster House talks and served in government before his popularity as a potential rival to Robert Mugabe caused their estrangement.
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Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist, during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist, and as a socialist after the 1990s.
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