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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Whither Opposition in Zimbabwe? |
Author: | Sylvester, Christine |
Year: | 1995 |
Periodical: | Journal of Modern African Studies |
Volume: | 33 |
Issue: | 3 |
Period: | September |
Pages: | 403-423 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Zimbabwe |
Subjects: | political conflicts opposition parties Politics and Government |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/161483 |
Abstract: | On 8 and 9 April 1995, Zimbabweans turned out for an election that mostly was not. As many as 55 of the 120 parliamentary seats open for contestation had already been decided for the ZANU-PF. These results raise a number of questions. What is the problematique of opposition in Zimbabwe? Who opposes whom? Where? How? Can there be opposition in Zimbabwe within moments of seeming consent? To note that opposition parties in Zimbabwe did poorly in the 1995 elections is not to conclude that there is little or no opposition to ZANU-PF. There are many examples of fugitive opposition in the country: collective cooperatives maintain a socialist line amidst increased liberalization; women's organizations flourish; students persist in criticizing the government. Formal constitutional opposition may not be the main site of opposition in Zimbabwe, but opposition is increasingly located within ZANU-PF. How fugitive forms of opposition in civil society interact with fugitive opposition in ZANU-PF, and both with constitutional opposition, frames 'the problem' of Zimbabwean politics in the days ahead. Notes, ref. |