Presidential, House of Assembly, Senate & local government: 2013

For recent news on Presidential (2nd Round) and By-Elections, please follow the links below:

2008 Presidential election results - second round

Zimbabwe: Put Off Polls - Levy

Zimbabwe elections to go ahead

Delay vote, U.N. Chief says

Morgan Tsvangirai's letter of withdrawal from the run-off

Role of election boycotts in a democracy

Zimbabwe: Opposition Pulls Out of Election

Statements by various actors

Presidential run-off

Vote recount to take longer

Judge defers ruling on MDC demand for election results

2008 Post- election - From the count to the results

2008 Post - election - Violence escalates

2008 Post- election - Rising Tension and legal manouevres

Election shocker: Supreme Court could order re-run

2008 Statements by various actors on post-electoral developments

Description of Electoral System:

The President is both head of State and Government and is directly elected by an absolute majority. However if a President dies or resigns the term is completed by a person elected by a joint sitting of the houses of Parliament. The President serves a five year term concurrent with that of Parliament and there are no restrictions on the number of terms that can be served. The President appoints two vice-Presidents.

Parliament consists of a House of Assembly and a Senate which serve concurrent five year terms. The House of Assembly consists of 210 members elected using single member plurality constituencies. The Senate consists of six members directly elected in first past the post elections from each of the 10 provinces, the 10 provincial governors, the President and Deputy President of the Council of Chiefs, two Chiefs from each province and five members appointed by the President.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for definitions

WANT MORE ELECTION RELATED STATS FOR ZIMBABWE? Go to "election databases" on the left-hand menu of this page OR comparative data on the right-hand menu and choose your area of interest.

Politics of Zimbabwe

Event

Workshop: Gender Media & Democracy

Southern African Media and Gender Institute invites activists and staff of NGOs and CBOs to its workshop from 29 October to 2 November 2007 in Zimbabwe.

  

   Workshop: Zimbabwe   Elections Support Network (ZESN) prepare for Elections

Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN) hosted a BRIDGE course for the different organisations in its network in mid-January 2008.

Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.  Mr Mugabe played a key role in ending white rule in Rhodesia and he and his Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) party have dominated Zimbabwe's politics since independence. In the early 1980s Mugabe served as Prime Minister and he was elected President by the parliament in 1987 when the post became an executive one. The early 1980s was a period of intense political conflict between the Shona led by ZANU PF and the Ndebele ethnic groups led by Joshua Nkomo's Patriotic Front Zimbabwe's African People's Union (PF ZAPU) which culminated in uprisings in Matabeleland which were brutally suppressed. In 1989 the government quashed student riots. Zimbabwe underwent severe economic decline partly caused by drought, which increased poverty levels and reduced access to basic social services.

In the 1995 parliamentary elections only two parties, ZANU (Ndonga) and the newly formed Forum Party, managed to put up more than one candidate against ZANU PF. Several opposition parties boycotted the election calling its integrity into question. ZANU PF won 118 of the 120 popularly elected seats. The presidential election held in March 1996 was significantly more peaceful, but was marked by a low voter turnout. These elections were characterised by the last-minute withdrawal of the two most credible opposition candidates, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole.

A greater challenge to the government came with the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in September 1999 under the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai. With its base in the trade union movement, the MDC emerged as a broad coalition of church and women's organisations, student leaders, businessmen, human rights and civic groups, who shared a commitment to political change. A draft Constitution that would have expanded presidential powers was rejected by the electorate in a referendum in 2000.

The 2000 parliamentary elections were held in a climate intense legal and political repression. ZANU PF narrowly won the in June 2000 with 48% of the vote 52% of the seats. The MDC secured 47% of the vote and 48% of the seats. The confliction relationship between the government and the opposition continued and repression increased in the run-up to the 2002 presidential elections which was won by Mugabe with 56% of the vote. A similar pattern of state violence recurred prior to the 2005 National Assembly elections which ZANU PF won comfortably with 60% of the vote. Later in 2005 the Senate, abolished in 1987, was reconstituted. The MDC split over participation on ethnic/regional lines with the larger faction supporting Tsvangirai’s boycott call. SADC sponsored talks between the two parties in 2007 led to compromise on a constitutional amendment which restructured Parliament, harmonized executive and legislative elections and expanded the functions of the Electoral Commission.

Previous election

DID YOU KNOW? By 2007 President Mugabe had headed the executive of Zimbabwe for 27 years

 

The 2008 House of Assembly election was held on the 29 March 2008. All 210 of the House of Assembly seats are elective. Total Seats 210, Seats postponed: 3, Seats unopposed: 1 (Muzarabani South, ZANU-PF)
Seats contested: 206

By-elections for the three constituencies were held on the 27 June 2008. Zanu PF won two seats (Gwanda South and Redcliff) and MDC - T won one seat (Pelandaba-Mpopoma). For more detail see: Zimbabwe: 2008 House of Assembly election results

In the presidential election first round, Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai won 47.87% of the votes, followed by Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF with 43.24%, then an independent candidate Simba Makoni with  8.31% and Towungana Langton  as an independent candidate won the remaining 0.58%. For more detail see: 2008 Presidential election results - first round.

The Electoral Act required that a run-off be held since no candidate won an absolute majority in the 29 March election. The presidential second round was held on the 27 June 2008, Robert Mugabe of ZANU PF won 90.22% of the votes and Morgan Tsvangirai won 9.78%of the votes. For more detail see:Presidential election results - second round.