Word: tsvangirai
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...bloody guerrilla war, the black majority finally took power in 1980, with Mugabe as independent Zimbabwe's first leader. He has ruthlessly held on to the position ever since. In March of last year, his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) lost a general election to Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Refusing to accept the result, Mugabe turned his security forces on his own people, killing more than 100, arresting thousands and displacing tens of thousands. But this February, with the economy in free fall, Mugabe agreed to share power with Tsvangirai. Mugabe would...
...continent where democracy is taking root more firmly each year, the deal was welcomed as an important step away from the habits of the past. Ever since, however, Mugabe and ZANU have blocked and delayed Tsvangirai and the MDC. When I caught my plane to Harare, the new state was still only partly formed and Mugabe was deriding the MDC as "insolent." Worse for Tsvangirai's supporters was the sight of their leader smiling and shaking hands with a man whose forces had repeatedly tried to kill him - and them. For years, Tsvangirai had told them that...
TIME: When will the transition be complete? Tsvangirai: The agreement does not mention when an election will be held. We left it out deliberately because our elections are characterized by violence. If you have set a date, you will have a situation of election mode from day one. A constitutional referendum will be conducted in the next 18 months, and at the end of that, the President and the Prime Minister will sit down and set a date for elections...
TIME: I heard. I'm sorry. Tsvangirai: It has been a terrible personal loss. It has an effect on your personal stability. I lived with somebody for 31 years, someone who was a pillar through all the trials and tribulations. It [the loss] is not something you can explain. You just live on a daily basis. You experience daily loss. The fount of grief has been lessened by the amount of support and grieving by the whole nation. It relieves you. It is not only your loss. And you throw yourself into your work hoping that you are able...
TIME: Do you worry about a repeat of last year's violence? Tsvangirai: In Zanu, the hardliners are just a dwindling minority. They are not able to mobilize support. People have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. No one wants Zimbabwe to slide back to where it was in November or December last year. You have to give it to Zimbabweans. Their resolve, their choice of the ballot over the bullet. Their commitment is amazing...