At stake in this election:

• The office of Executive President of Zimbabwe

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE *
• Head of Government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE
• Assembly: Zimbabwe has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 93 seats and the House of Assembly with 210 seats.

* Starting with the 2008 election, the presidential term will be lowered from five to two years.

Description of electoral system:

• The Executive President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Senate, 60 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms, 10 members are appointed by the President, 16 members are elected to serve 5-year terms, 2 members are designated to serve 5-year terms and 5 members are appointed by the President to serve 5-year terms*. In the House of Assembly 210 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

* In the Senate, 60 members representing each province are elected by popular vote, 10 are provincial governors are nominated by the president, 16 seats are occupied by traditional chiefs elected by the Council of Chiefs, 2 seats are held by the president and deputy president of the Council of Chiefs, and 5 members are appointed by the president to represent special interests.

Main Candidates in the Second Round of the Presidential race:

• Robert Gabriel MUGABE
  Party: Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
• Morgan TSVANGIRAI
  Party: Movement for Democratic Change - TSVANGIRAI faction (MDC-Tsvangirai faction)

Main Candidates in the First Round of the Presidential race:

• Robert Gabriel MUGABE
  Party: Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
• Morgan TSVANGIRAI
  Party: Movement for Democratic Change - TSVANGIRAI faction (MDC-TSVANGIRAI faction)

Last Presidential election:

• The first round of the election was held on 29 March 2008. Morgan TSVANGIRAI won 47.87% of the vote and Robert MUGABE won 43.24%. These two candidates faced off in a runoff election. 

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 12,311,143 (July 2007 est.)
• Registered Voters: 5,900,000 (March 2008 estimate)