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 unicameral National Assembly with 150 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The Executive President is elected by popular vote to serve a 6-year term.
• In the National Assembly, 12 members are appointed and 120 members are elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms.***

*** In the National Assembly, 120 members are elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms, 12 are nominated by the president, 8 seats are occupied by provincial governors, and 10 seats are occupied by traditional chiefs.

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

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Robert MUGABE
  Party: Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
• Morgan TSVANGIRAI
  Party: Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
• Wilson KUMBILA
  Party: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU)
• Shake MAYA
  Party: National Alliance for Good Governance (NAGG)
• Paul Siwela
  Party: N/A

Last Presidential election:

• Presidential Elections were last held March 16-17, 1996. Robert MUGABE received 92.7% of the vote.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 11,365,366 ( 2002 )
• Registered Voters: 5,049,815 ( 2000 )