Zimbabwe’s Hijacked Election

Issue Date October 2002
Volume 13
Issue 4
Page Numbers 87-101
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Read the full essay here.

Realizing that power would slip from his grasp if he allowed an honest presidential election in 2002, longtime strongman Robert Mugabe resorted to antidemocratic tactics that set a new low in cruelty and dishonesty.

About the Author

John Makumbe, senior lecturer in political science at the University of Zimbabwe, is coauthor (with Daniel Compagnon) of Behind the Smokescreen: The Politics of Zimbabwe’s 1995 General Elections (1996). He is currently chairing the Zimbabwe chapter of Transparency International, an international nongovernmental organization devoted to fighting corruption.

View all work by John Makumbe

Further Reading

Volume 19, Issue 4

Zimbabwe’s Long Agony

Once hailed as liberators, Zimbabwe’s ruling party now clings to power through violent repression. How did the country’s founding father become its dictator, and what patterns in his party’s past…

Volume 8, Issue 1

Zimbabwe’s Eroding Authoritarianism

Read the full essay here.

Volume 30, Issue 1

Zimbabwe: An Opportunity Lost

Zimbabwe’s first elections since the November 2017 coup that ousted nonagenarian dictator Robert Mugabe were marred by the abuse of state resources, electoral irregularities, and a tragic bout of postelection violence that saw…