| 19 September 2008 |
The Council held private consultations on the situation in Zimbabwe. |
| 11 July 2008 |
The Council failed to adopt a draft sanctions resolution against certain individuals responsible for the political violence in Zimbabwe. Nine Council members (Belgium, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Italy, Panama, UK and US) voted in the affirmative, while five others (China, Vietnam, Libya, Russia and South Africa) voted against the draft text, with one abstention (Indonesia).
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| 8 July 2008 |
The Council was briefed in an open meeting by the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, on developments since the second round of presidential elections on 27 June. The Council then met in private consultations with Haile Menkerios, Assistant-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, who had returned from a visit to the region.
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| 8 July 2008 |
G-8 leaders meeting in Japan issued a statement on Zimbabwe expressing their resolve to take “financial and other measures against those individuals responsible for violence” in the country.
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| 3 July 2008 |
The US circulated a draft resolution in private consultations imposing sanctions, including an arms embargo, an assets freeze and a travel ban.
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| 1 July 2008 |
The AU adopted a resolution expressing concern about the violence in the country and stressing the need to avoid further deterioration of the situation to prevent a spillover of the conflict into the broader region. The AU also encouraged the Zimbabwean leaders to engage in dialogue in order to foster peace, stability, democracy and reconciliation.
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| 27 June 2008 |
The presidential run-off took place. Incumbent President Robert Mugabe stood as the only candidate and was subsequently declared the winner.
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23 June 2008
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The Council adopted a presidential statement in which it condemned the campaign of violence against the opposition, noting that this made it impossible to hold free and fair elections on 27 June. It called on Zimbabwe’s government to stop the violence, political intimidation and restrictions on the right of assembly, release detained political leaders and cooperate with all efforts aimed at finding a peaceful solution. Finally, it noted that the results of the 29 March elections, which the opposition won, should be respected and requested the Secretary-General to report on regional and international efforts to resolve the crisis (S/PRST/2008/23).
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| 22 June 2008 |
Opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the presidential run-off, citing the absence of conditions for credible elections due to widespread violence and restrictions on his ability to effectively campaign.
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| 19 June 2008 |
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice convened a closed meeting of diplomats and humanitarian groups and urged the Council to take stronger action against the violence in Zimbabwe.
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12 and 18 June 2008
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The Security Council held consultations on the situation of presidential elections.
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2 May 2008
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Results of presidential elections were announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) revealing that neither of the two leading contenders managed an outright win. Tsvangirai led by obstaining 47.9 per cent of the votes cast as against Mugabe's 43.7 percent (former Finance Minister Simba Makoni came third with 8.3 per cent). Mugabe indicated his readiness to stand in a run-off while the MDC described the results as "scandalous daylight robbery." ZEC said a date for the second round between Mugabe and Tsvangirai (which should be held within three weeks) would be announced later.
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| 29 April 2008 |
The UN Security Council was briefed by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, during informal consultations on the situation in Zimbabwe.
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29 April 2008
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Over 180 opposition activists who were arrested on 25 April were released without charge after MDC won a High Court order the previous day.
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26 April 2008
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ZEC announced that the elections results remained unchanged in 18 of 23 constituencies where recounts had taken place. Zanu-PF loss of parliamentary majority is, therefore, confirmed.
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26 April 2008
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A group of churches in the second major city of Bulawayo said it was opening its doors to shelter the "victims of harassment".
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25 April 2008
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About 185 to 200 opposition supporters were arrested on suspicion of involvement in political violence, during a police raid on MDC offices in Harare. The MDC says many of the arrested were taking shelter after fleeing intimidation in rural areas.
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24 April 2008
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UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, held talks with Tsvangirai in Accra, Ghana, over the protracted post-election crisis in Zimbabwe.
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16 April 2008
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Eight members of the Council (i.e. Belgium, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Italy, Panama, UK and US) expressed concern about the situation in Zimbabwe during a High-Level debate in the Council on Peace and Security in Africa and called for free and fair elections and the release of the results of the presidential elections.
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12 April 2008
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Extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was convened in Lusaka, Zambia, to discuss the political situation in Zimbabwe.
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29 March 2008
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Elections (Presidential, House of Assembly, Senate and local councils) held in Zimbabwe. In the House of Assembly the main opposition party, MDC, won 99 seats. Another opposition faction (which later committed to an alliance with MDC) won another 10 seats. 97 seats were won by the ruling Zanu-PF party. It was the first time, since the country’s independence in 1980, that Zanu-PF had lost control of the lower house of parliament. In the Senate, Zanu-PF and the combined opposition won 30 seats each. Results from the presidential election were not released by Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission (ZEC) which justified this by the need for recounts in 23 constituencies for the parliamentary seats. MDC claimed that its candidate Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidency outright, however independent monitors said even though he received most of the votes, Tsvangirai may not have attained the threshold of more that 50% of the votes required to avoid a run-off election.
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3-7 December 2005
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Mission of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland traveled to Zimbabwe.
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26 November 2005
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Senate elections were held. Zanu-PF won 86% of elected seats and acquired 89% of all seats.
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27 July 2005
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The Security Council was briefed by the Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe in a private meeting.
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26 June - 8 July 2005
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UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, visited Zimbabwe.
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19 May 2005
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Operation Murambatsvina (Restore Order) was launched.
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31 March 2005
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Parliamentary elections. Zanu-PF won 65% of elected seats and acquired 72% of all seats.
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March 2002
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President Robert Mugabe was re-elected to a six-year presidential term.
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July 2000
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"Fast track" land reforms began.
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June 2000
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Parliamentary elections were held. Zanu-PF won 51.6% and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won 47.5% of the elected seats.
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February 2000
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Proposed constitutional amendments increasing presidential powers were rejected in a public referendum.
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September 1999
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The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a political party rooted in the Zimbabwean labour movement and drawing significant support from urban areas, was formed to challenge the ruling Zanu-PF party of President Mugabe.
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