Politics of Zimbabwe

The politics of Zimbabwe occurs in a society deeply divided along lines of race, ethnicity, gender and geography.^[1] The ZANU–PF party has historically been dominant in Zimbabwe politics.^[1] 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.^[1]

Per the 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe is a full presidential republic, whereby the President is the head of state and government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The status of Zimbabwean politics has been thrown into question by a 2017 coup.

Zimbabwe has been undergoing an economic crisis since the late 1990s.^[1]

Political developments since the Lancaster House Agreement

The Zimbabwean Constitution, initially from the Lancaster House Agreement a few months before the 1980 elections, chaired by Lord Carrington, institutionalises majority rule and protection of minority rights. Since independence, the Constitution has been amended by the government to provide for:

• The abolition of seats reserved for whites in the country's parliament in 1987;^[2]
• The abolition of the office of prime minister in 1987 and the creation of an executive presidency.^[2] (The office was restored in 2009, and abolished again in 2013.)
• The abolition of the Senate in 1990 (reintroduced in 2005), and the creation of appointed seats in the House of Assembly.^[2]

The elected government controls senior appointments in the public service, including the military and police, and ensures that appointments at lower levels are made on an equitable basis by the independent Public Service Commission.

ZANU-PF leader Robert Mugabe, elected prime minister in 1980, revised the constitution in 1987 to make himself president. President Mugabe's affiliated party won every election from independence on April 18, 1980, until it lost the parliamentary elections in March 2008 to the Movement for Democratic Change. In some quarters corruption and rigging elections have been alleged. In particular the elections of 1990 were nationally and internationally condemned as being rigged, with the second-placed party, Edgar Tekere's Zimbabwe Unity Movement, winning only 20% of the vote. Presidential elections were held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation, and fraud, and again in March 2008.

Ethnic rivalry between the Shona and Ndebele has played a large part in Zimbabwe's politics, a consequence of the country's borders defined by its British colonial rulers. This continued after independence in 1980, during the Gukurahundi ethnic cleansing liberation wars in Matabeleland in the 1980s. This led to the political merger of Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) with the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) to form ZANU-PF and the appointment of Nkomo as vice president.

During 2005, with Mugabe's future in question, factionalism within the Shona has increased.^[3] In October 2005 it was alleged that members of the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition MDC had held secret meetings in London and Washington to discuss plans for a new Zimbabwe after Robert Mugabe.^[4] On February 6, 2007, Mugabe orchestrated a Cabinet reshuffle, ousting ministers including 5-year veteran Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa.

Political conditions

Since the defeat of the constitutional referendum in 2000, politics in Zimbabwe has been marked by a move from the norms of democratic governance, such as democratic elections, the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, freedom from racial discrimination, the existence of independent media, civil society and academia.^[5] Recent years have seen widespread violations of human rights.

Elections have been marked by political violence and intimidation, along with the politicisation of the judiciary, military, police force and public services.^[6] Statements by the President and government politicians have referred to a state of war, or Chimurenga, against the opposition political parties, in particular the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T). Newspapers not aligned with the government have been closed down and members of the judiciary have been threatened and/or arrested. Repressive laws aimed at preventing freedoms of speech, assembly and association have been implemented and subjectively enforced. Members of the opposition are routinely arrested and harassed, with some subjected to torture or sentenced to jail. The legal system has come under increasing threat. The MDC has repeatedly attempted to use the legal system to challenge the ruling ZANU-PF, but the rulings, often in favour of the MDC, have not been taken into account by the police.^[7]

Government of Zimbabwe

Political power in Zimbabwe is split between three branches, the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches, with the President as the head of the executive branch, the Prime Minister the head of the legislative branch and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe the head of the judicial branch.

Executive

Under the present Zimbabwean Constitution, the President's powers can be grouped roughly into the following categories:

• Power over the Legislature, namely the power to summon, adjourn and dissolve Parliament, and the power to appoint members of Parliament.
• Power over the Judiciary, namely the power to appoint judges and other members of the judiciary.
• Power to appoint members of the Executive, namely Cabinet Ministers and administrative officers such as public servants.
• Power to appoint ambassadors and members of constitutional Commissions.
• Power over the security forces, namely the Defence Forces and the Police.
• Legislative power, namely the power to enact legislation.
• Power to declare war and make peace
• Miscellaneous powers, such as the exercise of the prerogative of mercy and the power to confer honours and precedence. The grant of a pardon or respite from execution of sentence or the substitution or suspension of a sentence must be published in the Gazette.^[8]

Main office-holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
President	Emmerson Mnangagwa	ZANU-PF	24 November 2017
Vice-President	Constantino Chiwenga	ZANU-PF	28 December 2017

Under Zimbabwe's Constitution, the president is the head of state, government and commander-in-chief of the defense forces, elected by popular majority vote. Prior to 2013, the president was elected for a 6-year term with no term limits. The new constitution approved in the 2013 constitutional referendum limits the president to two 5-year terms, but this does not take effect retrospectively (Robert Mugabe had held the office from 1987 to 2017).

The Cabinet is appointed by the president and responsible to the House of Assembly.

The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs is a non-cabinet ministerial position in the government of Zimbabwe. The incumbent is Didymus Mutasa.^[9] The duties of the position have yet to be publicly defined.

Legislature

Parliament of Zimbabwe in Harare

Parliament consists of the House of Assembly and, since 2005, the Senate, which had previously been abolished in 1990. The House of Assembly has 210 members elected by universal suffrage, including the Speaker, and the Attorney General, and may serve for a maximum of five years.^[10] Under the 2013 constitution, the Senate consists of 80 members, of whom 60 are elected for five-year terms in 6-member constituencies representing one of the 10 provinces, elected based on the votes in the lower house election, using party-list proportional representation, distributed using the hare quota. Additionally the Senate consists of 2 seats for each non-metropolitan district of Zimbabwe elected by each provincial assembly of chiefs using SNTV,^[11] 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.^[12][13]

Judiciary

The judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe who, like their contemporaries, is appointed by the President on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The Constitution has a Bill of Rights containing extensive protection of human rights. The Bill of Rights could not be amended for the first 10 years of independence except by unanimous vote of Parliament.

The Supreme Court is the highest court of order and the final court of appeal. The Chief Justice is the senior judge. Others who sit on the bench of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe are Justice Paddington Garwe, former Judge-President of the High Court, Wilson Sandura and Vernanda Ziyambi. Luke Malaba, a former justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed acting chief justice on 1 March 2017 following the retirement of Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku. Malaba was promoted to chief justice on 28 March.^[14]

The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law with South African influences. A five-member Supreme Court, headed by the Chief-Justice has original jurisdiction over alleged violations of fundamental rights guaranteed in the constitution and appellate jurisdiction over other matters. There is a High Court consisting of general and appellate divisions. Below the High Court are regional magistrate's courts with civil jurisdiction and magistrate's courts with both civil and criminal jurisdiction over cases involving traditional law and custom. Beginning in 1981, these courts were integrated into the national system.

List of chief justices of Zimbabwe:

Incumbent	Tenure		Notes
	Took office	Left office
Hector Norman MacDonald	1977	May 1980	Appointed by Ian Smith (Rhodesia under UDI)
Sir John Fieldsend[15]	1 July 1980	1983
Enoch Dumbutshena	February 1984	1990
Anthony Gubbay	1990	2001
Godfrey Chidyausiku	2001	2017
Luke Malaba[14]	2017	present

Provincial governance

Main articles: Provinces of Zimbabwe, Districts of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is divided into eight provinces, each administered by a provincial governor appointed by the President. The provincial governor is assisted by the provincial administrator and representatives of several service ministries. The provinces are further divided into 63 districts.Provinces are constituent political entities of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe currently has ten provinces, two of which are cities with provincial status. Zimbabwe is a unitary state, and its provinces exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Provinces are divided into districts, which are divided into wards.

The Constitution of Zimbabwe delineates provincial governance and powers. After constitutional amendments in 1988, provinces were administered by a governor directly appointed by the President of Zimbabwe.[1] Since the 2013 constitutional changes, there are technically no longer provincial governors, though in practice they remain in place as Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs. The 2013 Constitution also calls for the devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities where appropriate, though Zimbabwean opposition parties argue that the central government has yet to comply.[2]

With the establishment of Company rule in Rhodesia in the 1890s, the country was divided into two provinces: Matabeleland in the west and Mashonaland in the east. Under British colonial rule as Southern Rhodesia, the colony was divided into five provinces. Later, the Rhodesian government expanded the number of provinces to seven: Manicaland, Matabeleland North and South, Mashonaland North and South, Midlands, and Victoria (today Masvingo).[3] In the 1980s, Mashonaland North and South became three provincesThe youngest provinces, Bulawayo and Harare, were created in 1997.

Political parties and elections

Main articles: List of political parties in Zimbabwe and Elections in Zimbabwe

Presidential elections

Main article: 2023 Zimbabwean general election

Mnangagwa was re-elected president.^[16]

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Emmerson Mnangagwa	ZANU–PF	2,350,711	52.60
	Nelson Chamisa	Citizens Coalition for Change	1,967,343	44.03
	Wilbert Mubaiwa	National People’s Congress	53,517	1.20
	Douglas Mwonzora	Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai	28,883	0.65
	Joseph Makamba Busha	FreeZim Congress	18,816	0.42
	Blessing Kasiyamhuru	Zimbabwe Partnership for Prosperity	13,060	0.29
	Tapiwa Trust Chikohora	Zimbabwe Coalition for Peace and Development Party	10,230	0.23
	Gwinyai Henry Muzorewa	United African National Council	7,053	0.16
	Elisabeth Valerio	United Zimbabwe Alliance	6,989	0.16
	Harry Peter Wilson	Democratic Opposition Party	6,743	0.15
	Lovemore Madhuku	National Constitutional Assembly	5,323	0.12
Total			4,468,668	100.00
Valid votes			4,468,668	97.97
Invalid/blank votes			92,553	2.03
Total votes			4,561,221	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			6,623,511	68.86
Source: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, ZEC

Results by province

Results by Province^[17]

Province	Joseph Makamba Busha		Nelson Chamisa		Tapiwa Trust Chikohora		Blessing Kasiyamhuru		Lovemore Madhuku		Emmerson Mnangagwa		Wilbert Mubaiwa		Gwinyai Henry Muzorewa		Douglas Mwonzora		Elisabeth Valerio		Harry Peter Wilson		Total Votes Rejected		Total Votes Cast	Total Valid Votes Cast	Voter Population	Voter Turnout %
	FreeZim Congress		CCC		ZCPD		ZIPP		NCA		ZANU–PF		NPC		UANC		MDC-T		UZA		DOP
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Bulawayo	437	0.26	131,037	78.52	306	0.18	255	0.15	129	0.08	31,053	18.61	1,389	0.83	230	0.14	1,004	0.60	803	0.48	249	0.15	2,040	1.21	168,932	166,892	287,352	58.79
Harare	1,236	0.17	517,494	71.46	778	0.11	804	0.11	543	0.07	193,881	26.77	4,958	0.68	470	0.06	2,337	0.32	1,365	0.19	325	0.04	10,071	1.37	734,262	724,191	1,084,601	67.70
Manicaland	2,496	0.45	240,672	43.47	1,547	0.28	1,814	0.33	1,074	0.19	290,960	52.56	8,588	1.55	993	0.18	3,891	0.70	713	0.13	877	0.16	11,354	2.01	564,979	553,625	829,324	68.13
Mashonaland Central	2,089	0.44	95,508	19.97	785	0.16	1,289	0.27	455	0.10	370,175	77.41	4,058	0.85	586	0.12	2,280	0.48	358	0.07	648	0.14	9,200	1.89	487,431	478,231	625,968	77.87
Mashonaland East	1,435	0.26	184,827	33.51	892	0.16	914	0.17	415	0.08	354,081	64.20	5,101	0.92	671	0.12	2,178	0.39	435	0.08	563	0.10	10,694	1.90	562,206	551,512	773,281	72.70
Mashonaland West	2,579	0.47	209,744	38.10	1,165	0.21	1,667	0.30	529	0.10	323,523	58.77	5,664	1.03	825	0.15	3,157	0.57	757	0.14	887	0.16	13,931	2.47	564,428	550,497	785,583	71.85
Masvingo	2,634	0.53	167,813	33.96	1,454	0.29	2,240	0.45	637	0.13	307,383	62.21	6,798	1.38	908	0.18	2,825	0.57	540	0.11	896	0.18	11,087	2.19	505,215	494,128	723,934	69.79
Matabeleland North	1,425	0.65	111,609	51.03	955	0.44	1,060	0.48	489	0.22	91,306	41.74	5,356	2.45	751	0.34	4,249	1.94	826	0.38	703	0.32	6,594	2.93	225,323	218,729	371,701	60.62
Matabeleland South	1,331	0.76	80,365	45.89	970	0.55	1,035	0.59	416	0.24	82,511	47.12	3,997	2.28	702	0.40	2,673	1.53	503	0.29	612	0.35	4,772	2.65	179,887	175,115	300,768	59.81
Midlands	3,154	0.57	228,274	41.08	1,378	0.25	1,982	0.36	636	0.11	305,838	55.03	7,608	1.37	917	0.17	4,289	0.77	689	0.12	983	0.18	12,810	2.25	568,558	555,748	840,999	67.61
National Total	18,816	0.42	1,967,343	44.03	10,230	0.23	13,060	0.29	5,323	0.12	2,350,711	52.60	53,517	1.20	7,053	0.16	28,883	0.65	6,989	0.16	6,743	0.15	92,553	2.03	4,561,221	4,468,668	6,623,511	68.86

House of Assembly elections

Main article: 2023 Zimbabwean general election

The National Assembly has 210 single-member constituencies, the results of which are shown below.^[18] The remaining 70 seats comprises 60 seats which are reserved for women, six seats in each province, and 10 seats for youth, one seat in each province, which are filled based on the votes in the single-member constituencies using party-list proportional representation, distributed using the largest remainder method and the Hare quota.

On election day itself ZANU–PF won 136 seats and the CCC 73, with ZANU–PF retaining its rural base and the CCC capturing the urban vote.^[19][20][21] Voting in the Gutu West constituency was postponed to 11 November after one of the candidates died shortly before the elections.^[22] Following the parliamentary election in Gutu West, 65.24% of the constituency seats went to ZANU-PF and 34.76% of the constituency seats went to the CCC.^[23]

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Common	Women	Youth	Total	+/–
	ZANU–PF	2,515,607	56.18	137	33	7	177	–2
	Citizens Coalition for Change	1,856,393	41.46	73	27	3	103	New
	Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai	15,307	0.34	0	0	0	0	–88
	Zimbabwe African People's Union	10,857	0.24	0	0	0	0	0
	United Zimbabwe Alliance	4,937	0.11	0	0	0	0	New
	National Constitutional Assembly	2,462	0.05	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic Opposition Party	2,105	0.05	0	0	0	0	New
	FreeZim Congress	1,926	0.04	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic Union of Zimbabwe	1,881	0.04	0	0	0	0	0
	Mthwakazi Republic Party	1,641	0.04	0	0	0	0	0
	Zimbabwe National Revival Party	1,271	0.03	0	0	0	0	New
	Zimbabwe African National Congress	628	0.01	0	0	0	0	New
	United African National Council	574	0.01	0	0	0	0	0
	Zimbabwe Coalition for Peace and Development Party	434	0.01	0	0	0	0	New
	National People’s Congress	297	0.01	0	0	0	0	New
	Economic Freedom Fighters	286	0.01	0	0	0	0	New
	United Freedom Party	187	0.00	0	0	0	0	New
	Freedom Alliance	148	0.00	0	0	0	0	New
	Independents	60,445	1.35	0	0	0	0	–1
Total		4,477,386	100.00	210	60	10	280	+10
Source: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Zimbabwe Elections

Senate elections

Main article: 2023 Zimbabwean general election

Party		Seats	+/–
	ZANU–PF	33	–1
	Citizens Coalition for Change	27	New
Chiefs		18	0
Persons with disabilities		2	0
Total		80	0
Source: Zimbabwe Electoral Commission

MPs who lost their seats

Defeated	Party	Constituency	Defeated by	Party
Starman Chamisa[24]	Citizens Coalition for Change	Mbare	Martin Matinyanya	ZANU–PF
Temba Mliswa[25]	Independent	Norton	Richard Tsvangirai	Citizens Coalition for Change
Raj Modi[26]	ZANU–PF	Bulawayo South	Nicola Watson	Citizens Coalition for Change
Mthuli Ncube[27]	ZANU–PF	Cowdray Park	Pashor Raphael Sibanda	Citizens Coalition for Change

International organization participation

Zimbabwe participates in the following Pan-African and international organisations:

ACP AfDB Commonwealth of Nations (formerly from 1980 to 2003) ECA FAO G-15 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt (signatory) ICFTU ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Interpol IOC IOM

ISO ITU NAM OAU OPCW PCA PMAESA SADC United Nations UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMIK UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

See also

• Education in Zimbabwe
• Political history of Zimbabwe
• Politics of Rhodesia

References

1. Gloppen, Siri; Hinfelaar, Marja; Rakner, Lise (2023), "Zimbabwe", Democratic Backsliding in Africa?, Oxford University Press, pp. 235–257, doi:10.1093/oso/9780192867322.003.0010, hdl:20.500.12657/60999, ISBN 978-0-19-286732-2
2. Zimbabwe Moves to Limit Whites' Role : Legislation Prepared to End a Guarantee of Parliament Seats, Los Angeles Times, June 24, 1987.
3. Archived copy at the Library of Congress (April 14, 2005).
4. "The end of Mugabe?". openDemocracy. 13 October 2005. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
5. Miller, Laurel E.; Aucoin, Louis (2010). Framing the State in Times of Transition: Case Studies in Constitution Making. US Institute of Peace Press. ISBN 978-1-60127-055-9.
6. Archived March 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
7. Kwashirai, Vimbai Chaumba (2 March 2023). Election Violence in Zimbabwe: Human Rights, Politics and Power. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-12085-2.
8. The Constitution of The Republic of Zimbabwe Amendment(No.20) 2013. Zimbabwe: MOJLPA in partnership with ZBCB. 2013. p. 49.
9. "New Cabinet appointed". The Herald (Zimbabwe). 13 February 2009. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
10. "Zimbabwe's Mugabe Finalizes Constitutional Amendment On Elections"^{[permanent dead link‍]}, Carole Gombakomba, VOA News, November 1, 2007.
11. "Part X, Section 44". ELECTORAL ACT. Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. p. 35. Archived from the original (pdf) on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
12. "3, 4". Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) (PDF). pp. 52–54. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2014.
13. "Electoral Amendment Act 2014 [Act 6-2014]" (doc). Veritas Zimbabwe. pp. 52–55. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
14. Zharare, Herbert; Kachere, Phyllis. "Malaba appointed Chief Justice | The Herald". www.herald.co.zw. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
15. "THE LIGHT OF SUCCESSIVE CHIEF JUSTICES OF ZIMBABWE IN SEEKING TO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW" (PDF). MIRIAM ROTHSCHILD AND JOHN FOSTER HUMAN RIGHTS TRUST. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
16. "Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa wins re-election after troubled vote". AP News. 26 August 2023.
17. "Zimbabwe Electoral Commission". Retrieved 26 August 2023.
18. "Election Dashboard : Live Update Results 23 August 2023". zimbabweelections2023.co.zw. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
19. Banya, Nelson; Chingono, Nyasha (25 August 2023). "Zimbabwe braces for close election as early parliamentary results come in". Reuters. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
20. "Early results suggest closely fought Zimbabwe parliamentary polls". Daily Sabah. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
21. "Partial results suggest ZANU-PF's lead as election observers decry 'climate of fear'". SABC News. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
22. "ZEC stops Gutu West election after death of retired soldier candidate". Nehanda Radio. 15 July 2023.
23. "2023 Elections Zimbabwe". Pindula. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
24. Murwira, Zvamaida (26 August 2023). "Zanu PF poised for landslide". The Herald. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
25. Masau, Problem. "Candidates concede defeat". NewsDay. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
26. "Zimbabwe Elections 2023 Results: Deputy Minister Raj Modi Loses Parliamentary Seat To CCC's Watson". Pindula. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
27. Muzavazi, Shakespeare (24 August 2023). "ZANU PF candidate locks borehole after losing to CCC; as Mthuli Ncube loses in Cowdray Park". Zw News Zimbabwe. Retrieved 25 August 2023.

External links