Parliamentary elections were held in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
on 31 March 2005 to elect members to the Zimbabwe
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
. All of the 120 elected seats in the 150-seat House of Assembly were up for election. (In addition, there were 20 members appointed by the President and ten elected by the traditional chiefs, who mostly support the government. Electoral colleges for the election of 10 chiefs to the parliament were to be held on 8 April.)
The ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front party (ZANU-PF) of President
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) 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 ...
won the elections with an increased majority against the opposition
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 ...
(MDC). ZANU-PF won 78 seats to the MDC's 41, with one independent. (In the
2000 election, the ZANU-PF won 62 seats to the MDC's 57). According to the
Zimbabwe Election Commission, ZANU-PF polled nearly 60% of the vote, an increase of 11% over the 2000 results. The MDC's vote fell 9 to 39 percent. As a result of the election, ZANU-PF had a two-thirds majority in the legislature, allowing the government to change the Constitution.
As the results became clear the MDC denounced what it called "the sham elections," which it said had been marked by massive electoral fraud. "The elections cannot be judged to be free and fair," an MDC statement said. "The distorted nature of the pre-election playing field and the failure to address core democratic deficits precluded a free and fair election." The MDC claimed it would have won 90 seats if the vote had been free and fair.
A detailed account of the MDC's allegations of electoral fraud can be seen at th
MDC website Sokwanele
Sokwanele is a popular protest underground movement based in Zimbabwe that is involved in "anonymous acts of civil disobedience." They are pro-democracy, and they embrace supporters of all pro-democratic political parties, civic organisations ...
, a Zimbabwean underground pro-democracy movement, also released a report entitle
“What happened on Thursday night” Their report focuses specifically on the time after voting until results were announced.
Background
Voter education
In accordance with an Act of Parliament:
* The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) controls all voter education.
* They will supply materials for use in voter education.
* Non-Zimbabwean citizens are strictly banned from voter education.
* No foreign funding allowed for voter education, unless donated through ZEC.
* Anyone performing voter education (from approved materials only) must supply full contact details and address, as well as funding sources.
* Fines and imprisonment face transgressors.
Polling stations
High Court Judge George Chiweshe, who chairs the recently established Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, stated that 8227 polling stations will be set up in all of the country's 10 provinces – more than double the number used in previous elections
Harare alone is expected to have 522 polling stations, up from 167 polling stations in the presidential elections.
For the first time since independence from white minority rule in 1980, Zimbabwe will be holding elections on one day as opposed to two. Ballot counting will also take place at individual polling stations and new, translucent ballot boxes will replace wooden ones used in previous elections.
Voting must take place at these polling stations: any Zimbabweans living overseas must therefore have registered to be in the electoral roll by 4 February, and must vote in Zimbabwe. Requirements such as these are not uncommon in democratic countries.
Timetable and voters roll
The election date was set by President
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) 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 ...
on 1 February. 31 March was a public holiday to enable easier voter participation. The parliament was dissolved on 30 March, one day before the elections
The voters' roll was closed on 4 February
Nomination courts sat on 18 February to receive names of those intending to contest in the polls
results.
The voters roll is the cornerstone of "one person – one vote." Attempts to verify this have been extremely difficult to carry out because of obstruction and non-co-operation from the Zimbabwe Registrar General
The Registrar General refused to release the roll in electronic form, supported by judgments from the Supreme Court, necessitating any analysis to work from a paper copy. Electoral Law is very specific in that the roll must be readily and freely available to any person, however it took two years to obtain such a copy.
In February, South African president
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...
conceded that Zimbabwe's voters roll was defective and needed to be looked at
Only a single MDC constituency managed to complete the audit ahead of the deadline for objections to the voters' roll – a month before the poll
In that constituency, 64 percent of people in one densely populated block in Harare North, are not known at the addresses given on the voters' roll.
Tens of thousands of former workers on white-owned farms were deprived of their votes in the March election
The workers were expelled from their homes on farms along with their employers. Thus they did not have the necessary wad of official documents required to register as voters. In addition, many could not afford to travel to their original farm constituencies to verify their details on voters' rolls. Recently enacted laws demand that potential voters provide proof of residence before they can register. Rural Zimbabweans either produce letters from their headman or chief or from their farm employer as proof of residence.
Campaign
The main parties participating were:
* The
Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
. ZANU-PF forms the current government and is led by the Zimbabwean president,
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) 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 ...
. Both it and the opposition party expect ZANU-PF to end up with the majority of seats in parliament.
* The main opposition party is 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 ...
, led by
Morgan Tsvangirai
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) 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 ...
*
Zimbabwe African National Union - Ndonga
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
– spokesperson Reketai Semwayo
*
Zimbabwe People's Democratic Party
*
Zimbabwe Youth in Alliance
Zanu-PF is using claimed interference of
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, the British prime minister, and United States president
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in Zimbabwean politics, as an election issue. ZANU-PF is also stressing the benefits obtained through its policy of
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
.
The MDC sees the main issues as being jobs, food, peace, affordable AIDS drugs and honest, competent emphatic leadership. Their rallying cry is ''Change!'', and their symbol is an open hand.
Roy Bennett's wife Heather Bennett intended to stand for Chimanimani rural district after the nomination court refused papers filed on behalf of her jailed husband
However, on 15 March Zimbabwe's new Electoral Court ruled he could contest parliamentary elections. Nomination would be accepted on 4 April, while polling would take place on 30 April. An appeal by the government reversed this. The appeal was not contested by the MDC or the Bennetts. They considered that voters would be safer polling on the same day as the rest of the country, where a delay would allow Zanu-PF to concentrate efforts in that district. The MDC has never won a by-election.
Roy Bennett's application for release before the elections, on the basis of good behaviour and dissolution of the parliament that ordered the incarceration, failed
Sikhumbuzo Ndiweni, a former ZANU PF Bulawayo Provincial Information and Publicity Secretary, is co-ordinating the Independent Candidates Solidarity Network. Members are:
* Margaret Dongo (Harare Central)
* Former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo
Jonathan Nathaniel Mlevu Moyo (born 12 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Higher Education from 2015 to 2017. He was previously Minister of Information and Publicity from 2000 to 2005 ...
(Tsholotsho
**The former information minister registered to run as an independent in the constituenc
after he was excluded from running as the ZANU-PF candidate. The party had decided that a woman should contest the Tsholotsho constituency instead of him, a decision that was linked to Moyo's opposition to Joyce Mujuru
Joice Runaida Mujuru ( née Mugari; born 15 April 1955), also known by her nom-de-guerre Teurai Ropa Nhongo, is a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2014. Previously she had served as a ...
He will be facing Musa Ncube-Mathema, the wife of Bulawayo governor Cain Mathema
Cain Ginyilitshe Ndabazekhaya Mathema (born 25 January 1947) is a Zimbabwean politician and writer. He has held various cabinet roles in the Zimbabwean government. He is a member of Zanu-PF. He was born in Sipepa, Tsholotsho District.
Politica ...
, standing for Zanu-PF.
**In the 2000 election, Mtoliki Sibanda of the MDC won with 69% of the vote over Mathema of Zanu-PF. Sibanda will be defending his seat again in 2005.
* Dunmore Makuwaza (Mbare)
* Tendekai Mswata (St Mary's)
* Fanuel Chiremba (Tafara-Mabvuku)
* Peter Nyoni (Hwange East)
* Charles Mpofu (Bulawayo South)
* Leonard Nkala (Phelandaba/Mpopoma)
* Stars Mathe (Pumula/Luveve)
* Lloyd Siyoka (Beitbridge) withdrew in favour of Kembo Mohadi of Zanu-PF
* Godwin Shiri (Mberengwa East)
Conduct
The opposition MDC and
Jonathan Moyo
Jonathan Nathaniel Mlevu Moyo (born 12 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Higher Education from 2015 to 2017. He was previously Minister of Information and Publicity from 2000 to 2005 ...
alleged that voters have been threatened with starvation or violence if they fail to support Zanu-PF
No-go areas have been declared in Bindura
Zanu-PF candidates took over control of grain stocks in Manicaland and Masvingo from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and are vetting beneficiaries
Muchauraya said in Chipinge South, Enock Porusingazi was issuing badges inscribed "Election 2005" to supporters attending his rallies. The badges are then used as a ticket to buy maize.
On 8 March at Betura village, ward 16, more than 2 000 people were denied access to buy grain for allegedly failing to produce the badges. Only 200 people who had attended Zanu-PF rallies over the weekend had the badges and were allowed to buy maize.
Vote-counting
Zimbabwe's main opposition party said an investigation indicates massive electoral fraud in at least 30 seats won by the ruling Zanu-PF party
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 ...
said in 11 races the winning Zanu-PF candidate got more votes in the official returns than the government's own electoral commission said were cast in those races.
In each case, the MDC said its candidate had an unassailable lead, polling more than half the official total of votes cast. However, the official returns showed 183,000 more votes than the electoral commission said were cast.
MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi said the MDC limited its analysis to the 30 seats because the electoral commission refused to release figures for other races, a decision he said "indicates widespread irregularities" in those other areas.
Observer mission statements
Zimbabwe ratified new
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...
rule
in August 2004 governing principles and guidelines on elections; however, no reports on Zimbabwe's compliance have been issued by the body. One of the stipulations is that SADC monitors be invited 90 days before the poll.
By 4 February, an SADC team tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that Zimbabwe complies with the regional protocol had yet to receive permission to visit
Non-government organisations (NGOs), among them
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, 32 Nigerian NGOs and 17 from Zimbabwe, have expressed concern about the continued abuses of human rights in the country.
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
Chairman, President
Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...
, has been urged to prevail on Zimbabwe, to fully implement recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), on improving human rights conditions. The Commission made a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe in June 2002, and the Union's findings and recommendations were adopted in January 2005, at its summit in
Abuja
Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...
.
''"The majority of human rights concerns documented by the fact-finding mission in 2002 remain serious problems today,"'' the NGOs said.
On 19 February 2005, 32 nations were invited by President Robert Mugabe to observe the parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe
* Domestic poll observers require a 'registration fee' of US$ (in local currency) – approximately the monthly minimum wage.
* Approved Zimbabwean observers only announced two days before the election
* International observers (except South Africa) are required to pay US$300, while South African observers pay US$100. Of international observer teams, only South African ones have sufficient personnel and resources to cover rural areas.
Other organisations among those invited are the
Zimbabwe Council of Churches
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches is an ecumenical Christian organization in Zimbabwe. It was founded in 1964 and is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa
The Fellowship of Christian ...
,
Law Society of Zimbabwe
The Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) is the law society responsible for representing and regulating how lawyers and law firms operate in Zimbabwe. It is mandated to observe of the rule of law in the justice system.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe was e ...
,
Zimbabwe Election Support Network
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
,
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Affirmative Action Group, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Centre for Peace Initiatives in Southern Africa and the Southern African Institute for Democracy and Good Governance.
Aziz Pahad
Dr. Aziz Pahad (born 25 December 1940) is a South African politician, who served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 2008, he currently serves as an MP for Johannesburg West Highlands. He is the brother of Essop Pahad.
Education
A ...
, deputy foreign minister for South Africa, said the country has been invited to observe the Zimbabwean poll in at least five different capacities.
It has been invited as a member of SADC, as chair of the organ on politics, defence and security, and as a neighbouring country. The ruling
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
has also been asked to send an observer team, while parliament has set up a multi-party delegation.
Five members of South Africa's governing African National Congress party arrived in Harare on 10 March headed by James Motlatsi, the first foreign observers.
The 20-member South African parliamentary observer mission led by ANC chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe left for Zimbabwe on 14 March, and will return to South Africa on 3 April. On 18 April, the
Independent Democrats
The Independent Democrats (ID) was a South African political party, formed by former Pan Africanist Congress member Patricia de Lille in 2003 via floor crossing legislation. The party's platform was premised on opposition to corruption, with ...
Member of Parliament and mission member Vincent Gore withdrew, saying that since their arrival in Harare, the mission had been plagued by inefficiency, bad planning "and wasted time"
There is also a South African government delegation, led by Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, which arrived 15 March
The 50-member SADC observer mission including 10 South African delegates headed by Minerals and Energy Minister
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (; born 3 November 1955), South African Government Information. is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General ...
(later Deputy President), spokesperson South African foreign affairs official Nomfanelo Kota, left on 15 March
The
Congress of South African Trade Unions
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions ...
(COSATU)—a member of the South African ruling party
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
— sent a fact-finding mission in October 2004 to talk to the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions is the primary trade union federation in Zimbabwe. The Secretary General of ZCTU is Japhet Moyo and the president is Peter Mutasa. The former General Secretary was Morgan Tsvangirai. Jeffrey Mutandare is ...
(ZCTU) and research conditions for a fair poll. They were deported from Zimbabwe within hours after police broke up a meeting between them and ZCTU.
On 2 February 2005, a second mission led by
Zwelinzima Vavi
Zwelinzima Vavi (born 20 December 1962) is the former general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and vice-chairperson of the Millennium Labour Council.
Early life
Vavi was born on a farm in Hanover, Nort ...
, Secretary-General of COSATU, was turned bac
at
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
airport, charged under Section 18A of the Immigration Act which relates to prohibited immigrants. In response,
George Bizos
George Bizos ( el, Γιώργος Μπίζος; 14 November 19279 September 2020) was a Greek-South African human rights lawyer who campaigned against apartheid in South Africa. He was noted for representing Nelson Mandela during the Rivonia ...
, a respected human rights lawyer, said that all
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...
members are allowed to enter Zimbabwe without applying for a visa
After a meeting the next day between the unions in South Africa Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said ''"It is quite clear at the moment as things stand that there cannot be free and fair elections"''.
ZCTU requested that an independent electoral commission be established and international observers be allowed in the country, and the government also needed to scrap strict laws restricting the opposition's access to the media and barring it from holding public rallies and meetings without police permission.
Under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), it is a requirement for organisers of public meetings to first notify the police of the intention to gather. It is an offence, under the same law, for more than five people to meet without notifying the police, who have the prerogative to permit or deny permission to hold public meetings
ZTCU suggested that the date of the elections be postponed. ZCTU themselves have been barred from observing the election
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
has said that Zanu-PF has used threats and intimidation against opposition supporters ahead of the elections which now cannot be free and fair
''"It is the view of the mission that the 2005 parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe reflect the free will of the people of Zimbabwe"'' said South African Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana, who led the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n government observer mission for the elections.
Mdladlana said the elections on Thursday "by and large" conformed to election guidelines adopted by southern African leaders last year for holding a democratic vote.
''"Let me congratulate the people of Zimbabwe for holding a peaceful, credible and well-organised election which we feel reflects the will of the people"'' said
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (; born 3 November 1955), South African Government Information. is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General ...
, the South African cabinet minister that led the 55-member, 11-country observer mission from the
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...
.
Mlambo Ngcuka said the observer mission had asked the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to provide evidence to support their claims of discrepancies in 32 of the 120 constituencies.
''"We have received complaints and asked for information. We still don't have it. There is not much more we can do."'' she said.
Results
The results showed the same pattern as in 2000. The MDC won virtually all the seats in the main cities,
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
and
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...
, where
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.[Matabeleland
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 ...]
, where the
Ndebele people, once supporters of
Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and Matabeleland politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's ...
's
ZAPU
The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with the Zimba ...
, continue to oppose the
Shona
Shona often refers to:
* Shona people, a Southern African people
* Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today
Shona may also refer to:
* ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing
* Shona (given name)
* S ...
-dominated ZANU-PF. But in rural
Mashonaland
Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe.
Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces,
* Mashonaland West
* Mashonaland Central
* Mashonaland East
* Harare
The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...
, in central and northern Zimbabwe, where the majority of the population lives, ZANU-PF won all but one seat.
In some notable local results,
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, American English, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Muga ...
, speaker of the previous parliament, and tipped at one time to succeed Mugabe but recently fallen from grace, lost his seat Kwe-kwe to the MDC's Blessing Chebundo.
Jonathan Moyo
Jonathan Nathaniel Mlevu Moyo (born 12 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Higher Education from 2015 to 2017. He was previously Minister of Information and Publicity from 2000 to 2005 ...
, an independent, won the Tsholotsho constituency from the MDC. Another significant loss for the MDC was Chimanimani, contested by
Roy Bennett's wife Heather.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which had some 6,000 observers in the 8,000 polling stations, says that some 10% of would-be voters were turned away, either because their names were not on the electoral roll, they did not have the right identity papers, or they were in the wrong constituency.
References
Voter's Roll Audit – kubatana.netParliamentary Election 31 March 2005: Nomination Court Results*''Zimbabwe Independent''
4 February 2005.
*''Zimbabwe Independent''
4 February 2005.
External links
from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Angus Reid Consultants – Election TrackerList of candidatesOfficial website of ZANU-PFOfficial website of the MDCSADC observer mission statement
{{Zimbabwe elections
Elections in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
Parliamentary election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
2005 controversies