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Inclusive government - Index of articles
The Global Political Agreement and the Unity Accord in Zimbabwe
Shari Eppel
February 25, 2009
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In Zimbabwe
in 2008, the March Presidential election failed to produce an outright
winner, although Morgan Tsvangirai won 47% of the vote to Robert
Mugabe-s 43%. The ensuing state orchestrated violence reduced
the June run off to an illegitimate one-man race, as Morgan Tsvangirai
withdrew, citing impossible conditions for his supporters. Since
then, there has been a running debate both in Zimbabwe and abroad
on whether the MDC should enter into a transitional government of
unity with ZANU PF, as a way of temporarily resolving the crisis
of governance. On September 11th 2008, such a transitional government
was agreed to - and then disputes about the modalities of
operation delayed implementation until Feb 2009.
Those with reservations
about the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) frequently refer to the Unity Accord
(UA) of 1987, in which the opposition party ZAPU was swallowed up
by ZANU PF, as providing a salutary lesson to those who attempt
to govern side by side with ZANU PF. While the current GPA presents
a major challenge to all players, and could well fail to thrive
in the months to come, the circumstances leading to the GPA and
the UA have been markedly different, as have the nature and content
of the agreements themselves. Furthermore, Zimbabwe-s world
context has significantly changed in the last twenty years, meaning
that crude parallels between the UA and the GPA may be neither particularly
useful nor instructive.
In order to
assess the relative circumstances prevailing for and against MDC
and ZAPU various factors should be considered. These include:
- the relative
extent of the support bases of the two parties in their respective
historical moments
- the extent
and nature of the repression against the two parties prior to
the signing of their respective deals
- the extent
of supportive resources for ZAPU/MDC within the broader context
of the nation, including general knowledge of and empathy for
the repression among ordinary citizens, media coverage including
access to and dissemination of information about unfolding events,
and support from civil society nationally for the victimised groups
in each era.
- the extent
of understanding and support for victimised groups in Zimbabwe
within the neighbouring states and their ability and willingness
to respond - in the 1980s compared to post 2000
- the extent
of understanding and support for the victimised groups within
the broader international community, and its ability and willingness
to respond, in the 1980s and post 2000
- the power
and cohesion of the ruling party in 1987 and in 2008, and the
socio-economic strength of the nation in each era
- Most importantly
- the very nature of the agreements between ZAPU/ZANU PF
in 1987, and MDC / ZANU PF in 2008.
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