Zimbabwe African National Union
Zimbabwe African National Union ( ZANU, German African National Union of Zimbabwe) was a political and military group during the liberation struggle in Rhodesia, as well as one of the determining forces in independent Zimbabwe. The ZANU split in 1963 by the ZAPU from and won under their leader Robert Mugabe, the elections in 1980. Eight years later, she was united with Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU to ZANU -PF.
History
The founder of ZANU was Ndabaningi Sithole, who was more oriented to China and thus deposed by the pro-Soviet oriented Nkomo. Together with the lawyer Herbert Chitepo he struck a more conciliatory way. In contrast to the later development of both ZAPU and ZANU Shona and Ndebele were able to bind to and thus be based on the two largest ethnic groups in the country equally. Sithole took stronger the more developed eastern part of the country, while Nkomo was anchored more in the poor south. ZANU and ZAPU saw themselves as political parties formed in the Revolutionary War together the Patriotic Front. Your military wing, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ( ZANLA ) and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army ( ZIPRA ) operated by the neighboring countries of Zambia ( ZIPRA ) and also after its independence of Mozambique ( ZANLA ).
After Chitepos assassination on March 18, 1975 was awarded Robert Mugabe, who had been present at this time in Mozambique, the leading position in ZANU. He could not prevent the division by ethnicity. The Ndebele followed Sithole into the moderate, abandon end to armed struggle ZANU- Ndonga, the Shona followed Mugabe of ZANU militants aligned.
Sithole participated in 1979 at the transitional government of whites and blacks under Bishop Abel Muzorewa. He participated in the negotiations with Muzorewa to Lancaster House Agreement in London on a constitution and general elections in Zimbabwe. These elections ZANU won the Robert Mugabe 1980 to consider with more than 60%.
After eight years of political strife, but also military skirmishes with the political opponents, Mugabe decided to terrorist action, which became known as Gukurahundi and at the end of Joshua Nkomo was forced to merge his ZAPU with ZANU to the old ZANU -PF. So Mugabe had come to his goal of a one-party state in detail. As a consequence, was formed with the Movement for Democratic Change ( MDC), a new opposition party, which is based not only on the Ndebele, but even more to the urban middle class and increasingly also on victims of the Mugabe regime.
The ZANU -PF is based in their structures to communist and socialist models of the former Eastern Bloc. So the party has a Politburo.
In addition to the ZANU -PF continues to exist, the ZANU- Ndonga, which has no parliamentary seats and support the course of the ZANU -PF.
After the ZANU- PF had first lost its majority in Parliament in 2008, she received a two-thirds majority of seats in the parliamentary elections of 2013. However, the election results are disputed.