Zimbabwe

Flag Description

Seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the centre of the triangle, which symbolizes peace; green symbolizes agriculture, yellow–mineral wealth, red –blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people.

Election type: Parliamentary

Election date: 31 March 2005 (last held 24-25 June 2000)

Compulsory voting: No

Government

Type: Parliamentary

Chief of State and Head of Government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987)

Party in Government: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)

Branches: Executive—President (chief of state and head of government), Cabinet. Legislative—in the 150-seat unicameral House of Assembly, one hundred and twenty members are elected by popular vote for a five-year term. Twelve members are nominated by the President, ten seats are awarded to traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and eight are occupied by provincial governors appointed by the President.

Judicial—High Court, Court of Appeal, local and customary courts.

Main political parties: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), National Alliance for Good Governance (NAGG), Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga (ZANU-Ndonga).

Suffrage: universal at 18

In a BBC News article entitled Straw condemns Zimbabwe elections dated 5 April 2005, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is critical of President Robert Mugabe’s exclusion of global media and independent observers and says electoral abuse was ‘rife’, citing discrepancies between the number of votes tallied and official numbers later announced. According to Mr Straw, the misuse of food aid and an election commission packed with Zanu-PF supporters are only two of several other abuses discussed in this article.

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Last reviewed 22 September, 2005 by the Parliamentary Library Web Manager
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