Movement for Democratic Change

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Zimbabwe
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The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is a Zimbabwean political party led by Morgan Tsvangirai. It was founded in 1999 as an opposition party to the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF party led by President Robert Mugabe. The MDC was formed from many members of the broad coalition of civic society groups and individuals that campaigned for a "No" vote in the 2000 Constitutional referendum, in particular the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

1 History
2 Notable party members
3 See also
4 Referneces
5 External links

[edit] History

In February 2000, ZANU-PF organised a constitutional referendum. The proposed change would have limited future presidents to two terms, but as it was not retroactive, Mugabe could have stood for another two terms. It would also have made his government and military officials immune from prosecution for any illegal acts committed while in office. Also, it legalised the confiscation of white-owned land for redistribution to black farmers without compensation. It was defeated, after a low 20% turnout, by a strong urban vote, fuelled by an effective SMS campaign. Mugabe declared that he would "abide by the will of the people". The vote was a surprise to Zanu-PF, and an embarrassment before parliamentary elections due in mid-April. This success fuelled a meteoric rise in visibility to the very recently formed MDC.

In the 2000 parliamentary elections, the MDC won 57 of the 120 seats up for election. This marked the first time that an opposition party has achieved more than a handful of seats since the merger of ZANU and ZAPU in 1988.

This election was viewed by international observers from the Commonwealth, Norwegian, and the South African Parliamentary Delegation as not being free and fair. Some missions from Mugabe's allies such as the SADC observers and the South African Ministerial Observer team held that the election was substantially free and fair. The election is currently being challenged in the Zimbabwean Supreme court, 18 months after the election.

The MDC announced during mid-2004 that it would not participate in any further elections in Zimbabwe, including the 2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections until it believed a free and fair vote could take place. However on February 3, 2005, spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi told a news conference "It is with a heavy heart that the MDC has decided to participate in the elections ... This is a decision based primarily on the demands of our people".^[1] At these elections the party won 39.5 % of the popular vote and 41 out of 120 elected seats.