Word: pf
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...reality, the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) simply stole another election. Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for 25 years, and—despite the fact that the former breadbasket of Africa has become the famine-ravaged basketcase of Africa—his iron-fisted grip on power seems unassailable...
...parliamentary seats fell from 57 to 41; the election deck, as always, was stacked wildly in Mugabe’s favor. Mugabe directly appoints 30 members of the parliament, which means that the MDC needs to win 76 seats to have a simple majority while the ZANU-PF only needs 71 seats to have a two-thirds majority. The ZANU-PF supports this structural advantage through gang violence, voter intimidation, and shameless abuse of food aid. Simply put, voting for the MDC is a death sentence in rural areas, where famine—thanks to Mugabe’s land...
Zimbabwe's parliamentary election was far more peaceful than the last couple of polls, but the result was the same. By late Saturday, President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party had won 78 of the 120 seats up for grabs. Together with the 30 M.P.s appointed by the President, that assures Mugabe a compliant parliament for another five years and gives him the two-thirds majority he needs to change the constitution. While most Zimbabweans are preoccupied by domestic crises - such as 80% unemployment and widespread hunger - Mugabe, who has ruled since 1980, and his party campaigned as if they...
...story is typical. He moved to Johannesburg in 1993 in search of work. After taking odd jobs, he started his transport business four years ago. But he won't be voting in this week's parliamentary elections. Last year, Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party barred all expats, except for diplomats, from casting a ballot; a Supreme Court ruling two weeks ago confirmed the ban. That decision rankles with the millions of Zimbabweans, up to half the voting-age population, living in exile. If ZANU-PF wins - or fixes - a two-thirds majority...
...That right has proved unpalatable to Mugabe. In 2000, the Zimbabwean President was shocked when changes to the constitution he wanted were rejected in a national referendum. During parliamentary elections a few months later and the presidential campaign in 2002, ZANU-PF used police and trained thugs to attack the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), bullying, beating up and even murdering opposition supporters to ensure victory. The MDC, led by former union boss Morgan Tsvangirai, struggles on. While violence in the run-up to this week's vote has been only sporadic, independent observers, human-rights groups...