1980 Southern Rhodesian general election in the context of "ZANU–PF"

Robert Gabriel Mugabe (/mʊˈɡɑːbi/; Shona: [muɡaɓe]; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as the leader of Zimbabwe from 1980 until he was deposed in a coup in 2017. He served as the first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from internationally recognised independence in 1980 to 1987, then as the second president of Zimbabwe from 1987 to 2017. He was also the Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) as its First Secretary, from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist, during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist, and from the 1990s as a socialist.

Mugabe was born to a poor Shona family in Kutama, then in Southern Rhodesia. Educated at Kutama College and the University of Fort Hare, he worked as a schoolteacher. Angered by white minority rule of his homeland within the British Empire, Mugabe embraced Marxism and joined African nationalists calling for an independent state controlled by the black majority. After making antigovernmental comments, he was convicted of sedition and imprisoned between 1964 and 1974. On release, he fled to Mozambique, established his leadership of ZANU, and oversaw its role in the Rhodesian Bush War, fighting Ian Smith's predominantly white government. He reluctantly participated in peace talks in the United Kingdom that resulted in the Lancaster House Agreement, putting an end to the war. In the 1980 general election, Mugabe led ZANU-PF to victory, becoming prime minister when the country, now renamed Zimbabwe, gained internationally recognised independence later that year. Mugabe's administration expanded healthcare and education and—despite his professed desire for a socialist society—adhered largely to mainstream economic policies.

Harare Metropolitan Province (/həˈrɑːreɪ/) is a province in northeastern Zimbabwe that comprises Harare, the country's capital and largest city, and three other municipalities, Chitungwiza, Epworth and Ruwa. At independence in 1980, it was originally part of Mashonaland Province which in 1983 was divided into three large provinces, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, and Mashonaland West - at this point, the city of Harare became part of Mashonaland East. In 1997, along with Bulawayo, it became a metropolitan province, along with the then two nearby urban settlements. Harare Metropolitan Province is divided into four local government areas - a city council, a municipality and two local boards.

Harare Province has an area of 872 square kilometres (337 sq mi), equal to 0.22% of the total area of Zimbabwe. It is the second-smallest in area of the country's provinces, after the city-province of Bulawayo. As of the 2022 census, the province has a population of 2,427,209, of whom 1,849,600 live in Harare proper, 371,244 in Chitungwiza, and the remaining 206,365 in Epworth. In total, Harare Province is home to 16.26% of Zimbabwe's population, making it the country's most populous province.

Rhodesia (/roʊˈdiːʒə/ roh-DEE-zhə, /roʊˈdiːʃə/ roh-DEE-shə; Shona: Rodizha), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised country in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the de facto successor state to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia following a unilateral declaration of independence issued by the ruling white-minority government. Throughout this fourteen-year period, Rhodesia faced internal conflict and political unrest. Following the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979, the territory returned to British political control and then subsequently gained internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe in 1980.

The rapid decolonisation of Africa in the late 1950s and early 1960s alarmed a significant proportion of Southern Rhodesia's white population. In an effort to delay the transition to black majority rule, the predominantly white Southern Rhodesian government issued its own Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965. The new nation, identified simply as Rhodesia, initially sought recognition as an autonomous realm within the Commonwealth of Nations, but reconstituted itself as a republic in 1970. Following the declaration of independence in 1965, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution that called upon all states not to grant recognition to Rhodesia. Two African nationalist parties, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), launched an armed insurgency against the government upon UDI, sparking the Rhodesian Bush War. Growing war weariness, diplomatic pressure, and an extensive trade embargo imposed by the United Nations prompted Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith to concede to majority rule in 1978. However, elections and a multiracial provisional government, with Smith succeeded by moderate Abel Muzorewa, failed to appease international critics or halt the war. By December 1979, Muzorewa had secured an agreement with ZAPU and ZANU, allowing Rhodesia to briefly revert to colonial status pending new elections under British supervision. ZANU secured an electoral victory in 1980, and the country achieved internationally recognised independence in April 1980, as Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant socialist organisation that fought against white-minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) in 1963. ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugabe and Ndabaningi Sithole, later respectively called ZANU–PF and ZANU–Ndonga. These two sub-divisions ran separately at the 1980 general election, where ZANU–PF has been in power ever since, and ZANU–Ndonga a minor opposition party.

The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia. The agreement effectively concluded the Rhodesian Bush War. It also marked the nullification of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, as British colonial authority was to be restored for a transitional period to internationally recognised independence, during which free elections under supervision by the British government would take place. Crucially, ZANU and ZAPU, the political wings of ZANLA and ZIPRA (who had been waging an escalating insurgency since 1964), would be permitted to stand candidates in the forthcoming elections. This was however conditional to compliance with the ceasefire and the verified absence of voter intimidation.

Harare Metropolitan Province (/həˈrɑːreɪ/) is a province in northeastern Zimbabwe that comprises Harare, the country's capital and largest city, and three other municipalities, Chitungwiza, Epworth and Ruwa. At independence in 1980, it was originally part of Mashonaland Province which in 1983 was divided into three large provinces, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, and Mashonaland West - at this point, the city of Harare became part of Mashonaland East. In 1997, along with Bulawayo, it became a metropolitan province, along with the then two nearby urban settlements. Harare Metropolitan Province is divided into four local government areas - a city council, a municipality and two local boards.

Harare Province has an area of 872 square kilometres (337 mi), equal to 0.22% of the total area of Zimbabwe. It is the second-smallest in area of the country's provinces, after the city-province of Bulawayo. As of the 2022 census, the province has a population of 2,427,209, of whom 1,849,600 live in Harare proper, 371,244 in Chitungwiza, and the remaining 206,365 in Epworth. In total, Harare Province is home to 16.26% of Zimbabwe's population, making it the country's most populous province.

Zimbabwe Rhodesia (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ roʊˈdiːʒə, zɪmˈbɑːbwi roʊˈdiːʒə/), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, was a short-lived unrecognised sovereign state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 18 April 1980, though it lacked international recognition. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was preceded by another state named the Republic of Rhodesia and was briefly under a British-supervised transitional government sometimes referred to as a reestablished Southern Rhodesia, which according to British constitutional theory had remained the lawful government in the area after Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965. Following the 1980 Southern Rhodesian general election, the country was granted internationally-recognized independence within the Commonwealth as the Republic of Zimbabwe.