The United Parties (UP) is a political party founded in Zimbabwe in 1994 and was led by retired Bishop

Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (14 April 1925 – 8 April 2010), also commonly referred to as Bishop Muzorewa, was a Zimbabwean bishop and politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement to ...

. The UP is an amalgamation of Muzorewa's former party,

United African National Council The United African National Council (UANC) is a political party in Zimbabwe. It was briefly the ruling party during 1979–1980, when its leader Abel Muzorewa was Prime Minister. History The party was founded by Muzorewa in 1971.< ...

, and a

Matebeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

and

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, ...

-based faction of the

Forum Party The Forum Party of Zimbabwe (FPZ) was a centre-right conservative political party in Zimbabwe. The Forum party was formed on 28 March 1993 and was led by a former Zimbabwean Chief Justice Enoch Dumbutshena. It was formed by a merge between the F ...

which had been formed in 1993. The UP also received members from the

Zimbabwe Unity Movement 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, ag ...

, the party founded by former

ZANU PF The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugab ...

secretary general

Edgar Tekere Edgar Zivanai Tekere (1 April 1937 – 7 June 2011), 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 ta ...

in 1989. The UP boycotted the 1995 elections and in 1996 Muzorewa withdrew from the Presidential election charging widespread irregularities in the electoral law and administration. In the run-up to the 2000 election the UP called for Mugabe's resignation and an end to political intimidation. The party signed a voting pact agreement with the Liberty Party, ZANU Ndonga and the Zimbabwe Union of Democrats with the aim of supporting the other party's candidate to avoid splitting votes. It exists today, although overshadowed by the

Movement for Democratic Change Movement for Democratic Change or MDC may refer to: * Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), the former main opposition party in Zimbabwe ** Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai Congress 2006, the second MDC–T congres ...

as the principal opposition force.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Political parties in Zimbabwe Socialist parties in Africa Zimbabwean democracy movements {{Zimbabwe-party-stub