At stake in this election:

• 50 seats in the Senate

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 66 seats and the House of Assembly with 150 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The Executive President is elected by popular vote to serve a 6-year term.
• In the Senate, 50 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 6 members are appointed *. In the House of Assembly, 120 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms and 12 members are appointed .**

* In the Senate, 50 senators are elected on a constituency system, 6 seats are appointed by the president, and 10 seats are reserved to traditional chiefs.

** In the House of Assembly, 120 members are elected by popular vote, 12 members are nominated by the president, 10 seats are occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8 are occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
  Leader: Robert MUGABE
  Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
• Party: Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
  Leader: Morgan TSVANGIRAI
  Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
• Party: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU-Ndonga)
  Leader: Wilson KUMBULA
  Seats won in last Senate election: N/A

Last Parliamentary election:

• This is the first time in three decades that the country holds elections for the Senate. President MUGABE abolished the Senate in 1987 and established a single-chamber parliament. This election will reintroduce the upper house in the parliament.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 12,746,990 (July 2005 est.)
• Registered Voters: 5,658,624 (March 2005 )