Zimbabwe: Reconciliation, unity and conflict (1980-1989) (continued)

It was in this environment that the 1985 elections were held (for more information see 1985 General Elections). ZANU-PF increased both its share of the vote (63% to 77%) and the number of seats it held in the House of Assembly (57 to 64). PF-ZAPU lost five of 20 seats, the UANC lost all three of its seats and ZANU-Sithole (later named ZANU-Ndonga) managed to gain a seat (see 1985 House of Assembly results for details). CAZ rebounded, to Mugabe's annoyance, taking 15 of the 20 seats reserved for whites and reducing the IZG to four seats. Though CAZ won only 55% of the vote in a low turnout, Mugabe interpreted the results as a rejection by whites of the government's attempts at reconciliation (Selby 2006, 121-122).

The deteriorating situation in Matabeleland, the electoral losses suffered and continued state harassment, of himself and his party, forced Nkomo into negotiations with Mugabe, culminating in the Unity Accord of December 1987 that merged PF-ZAPU with ZANU-PF; Mugabe became president of ZANU-PF and Nkomo one of two vice-presidents (Esterhuysen 2004; Masunungure 2004, 158-159). The accord also led to the granting of amnesty in for both dissidents and government forces involved in Matabeleland in April and June 1988; so ending the conflict (CCJPZ 1997, 73; Encyclopedia of the Nations 2007).

The merging of the parties gave ZANU-PF three-quarter majority (in fact 79 of 100 seats) in the House of Assembly which enabled significant changes to be made to the independence constitution that came into force in 1980. A powerful executive presidency was adopted with Mugabe as president and Nkomo as one of two vice-presidents (Esterhuysen 2004; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2004, 313). The seven-year guarantee of separate reserved seats for whites had expired and their 20 seats in the House of Assembly were abolished and replaced by common-roll seats (elected in the interim by the sitting members (Esterhuysen 2004; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1288). ZANU-PF nominees replaced the ten white senate members and the body was abolished entirely in 1989 (Esterhuysen 2004; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1288). These measures not only united the nationalists in one camp and removed the whites as an independent force in Zimbabwean politics, but also thereby substantially advanced Mugabe's goal of creating a one-party state where ZANU-PF hegemony could be permanently secured (Gatcheni 2004, 313; Masunungure 2004, 159).

Mugabe again articulated the need for Zimbabwe to become a Marxist-socialist one-party state in 1988, but the unity that had been won was beginning to fray at the edges (Esterhuysen 2004). Dissent emerged within ZANU-PF itself, for hard-line Marxist-Leninists were dissatisfied with the perceived capitalist orientation of government policies, socialist rhetoric notwithstanding, while the trade union movement chaffed under the restrictions of the corporatist regime imposed by the 1985 Labour Relations Act and its subsequent amendments in 1988; ZANU-PF's response was to expel or suspend dissidents (Gwisai 2002; Masunungure 2004, 167). In October 1989 student protests led to the closure of the University of Zimbabwe and the arrest of student leaders, and when Morgan Tsvangirai, general secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions objected, he too was arrested (Masunungure 2004, 170; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1288). On the other hand opposition emerged to the notion of a socialist one-party state, led by ZANU-PF secretary general Edgar Tekere, resulting in his expulsion in 1988 and the formation of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) under his leadership (Esterhuysen 2004; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2004, 314). There remained also great bitterness in Matabeleland over the atrocities committed by the 5th Brigade in the preceding years (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2004, 311).

All of this foment was underpinned by the fact that the first decade after liberation had not led to any substantial improvement in economic conditions for the majority of Zimbabweans and unemployment in fact increased, the gains that had been made in education and healthcare notwithstanding (Esterhuysen 2004; Brown & Saunders 2007, 1288). To this can be added a perception that the leadership of ZANU-PF had become corrupted by power and the pursuit of wealth to the exclusion of all concern for the masses they claimed to represent, for as Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2004, 313) puts it:

The state, the government and the ruling party became alienated from the people. The people realised that the political elite were beginning to betray them. The ruling party quickly realized the danger of being rejected by the people; hence it intensified the agenda of a one-party state that was going to close the door for regular elections as well as party choice.

The ZANU-PF congress, held in December 1989, was marked by controversy over the leadership role that Nkomo should play (specifically over the creation of a second vice-presidency for him in the party), as well as opposition to the creation of a one-party state (Brown & Saunders 2007, 1288).

References

BROWN, R & SAUNDERS, C 2007 "Zimbabwe: Recent History" IN Frame, I (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Europa Publications, 1287-1295.

CATHOLIC COMMISSION FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE IN ZIMBABWE (CCJPZ) 1997 Breaking THE SILENCE: a Report on the Disturbances in Matebeleland and the Midlands 1980-1988, Legal Resource Foundation.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NATIONS 2007 "Zimbabwe: History", [www] http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Zimbabwe-HISTORY.html [opens new window] (accessed 6 Dec 2007).

ESTERHUYSEN, P 2004 "Zimbabwe: an historical overview", Institute of Strategic Studies, [www] http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9396258_ITM [opens new window] (accessed 6 Dec 2007).

GWISAI, M 2002 "Revolutionaries, resistance and crisis in Zimbabwe" FROM Zeilig, L (ed), Class Struggle and Resistance in Africa, New Clarion Press, Cheltenham, UK, [www] http://www.dsp.org.au/links/node/77 [opens new window] (accessed 12 Dec 2007).

NDLOVU-GATSHENI, SJN 2004 "Putting People First - From regime Security to Human Security: A quest for Social Peace in Zimbabwe, 1980-2002" IN Nhema, AG (ed) The Quest for Peace in Africa: Transformations, Democracy and Public Policy, OSSREA.

MASUNUNGURE, E 2004 "Travails of Opposition politics in Zimbabwe since Independence" IN Harold-Barry, D (ed) Zimbabwe: The Past is the Future - Rethinking Land, State and Nation in the Context of Crisis, Weaver Press.