2005 Zimbabwean parliamentary election

2005 Zimbabwean parliamentary election
120 of the 150 seats in the House of Assembly
Registered	5,658,624 (6.99%)
Turnout	47.66% (0.67pp)

Parliamentary elections were held in Zimbabwe on 31 March 2005 to elect members to the Zimbabwe House of Assembly. All of the 120 elected seats in the 150-seat House of Assembly were up for election. There were a further 20 members appointed by the President and ten elected by traditional chiefs, who mostly support the government. Electoral colleges for the election of the ten chiefs to the parliament were to be held on 8 April.

The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front party (ZANU-PF) of President Robert Mugabe won the elections with an increased majority against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). ZANU-PF won 78 seats to the MDC's 41, with one independent. (In the 2000 election, the ZANU-PF won 62 seats to the MDC's 57). According to the Zimbabwe Election Commission, ZANU-PF polled nearly 60% of the vote, an increase of 11% over the 2000 results. The MDC's vote fell 9 to 39 percent. As a result of the election, ZANU-PF had a two-thirds majority in the legislature, allowing the government to change the Constitution.

The elections were not free and fair, as the ruling ZANU-PF party engaged in violence against the opposition.^[1]

As the results became clear the MDC denounced what it called "the sham elections," which it said had been marked by massive electoral fraud. "The elections cannot be judged to be free and fair," an MDC statement said. "The distorted nature of the pre-election playing field and the failure to address core democratic deficits precluded a free and fair election." The MDC claimed it would have won 90 seats if the vote had been free and fair.

A detailed account of the MDC's allegations of electoral fraud can be seen at the MDC website. Sokwanele, a Zimbabwean underground pro-democracy movement, also released a report entitled “What happened on Thursday night”. Their report focuses specifically on the time after voting until results were announced.

^ Kwashirai, Vimbai Chaumba, ed. (2023), "What General Elections in 2005?", Election Violence in Zimbabwe: Human Rights, Politics and Power, Cambridge University Press, pp. 184–215, doi:10.1017/9781108120265.010, ISBN 978-1-107-19081-8

[1] Kwashirai, Vimbai Chaumba, ed. (2023), "What General Elections in 2005?", Election Violence in Zimbabwe: Human Rights, Politics and Power, Cambridge University Press, pp. 184–215, doi:10.1017/9781108120265.010, ISBN 978-1-107-19081-8

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