Guide Note

Morgan Tsvangirai is the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, the major opposition party in Zimbabwe. He has also worked as a trade union leader and human rights activist.

Though he received 47.9 percent of the vote in the 2008 Zimbabwe election,¹ Tsvangirai has withdrawn from the runoff election, citing fears of violence.²

Fast Facts

1. Born: March 10, 1952
2. Birthplace: Gutu, Southern Rhodesia
3. Married: Susan Tsvangirai
4. Political party: Movement for Democratic Change
5. Worked in a nickel mine from 1974-1984
6. Became leader of Zimbabwe trade unions in 1989
7. Founded the MDC in 1999
8. Arrested and severely beaten on March 11, 2007³
9. Arrested on January 21, 2008 for organizing anti-Mugabe demonstrations⁴

Tsvangirai has been a vocal critic of the Robert Mugabe government and has been arrested many times. His most recent arrests were on March 11, 2007, during which he was severely beaten, and on January 21, 2008, for organizing anti-Mugabe demonstrations.⁴

He has also been arrested and tried on allegations of treason, plotting the assassination of Robert Mugabe and making threats against Mugabe. All of these charges were eventually dismissed.⁵

Early and inconclusive vote counts estimated Tsvangirai had won 60% of the vote in the 2008 Presidential Election. However, as time went on, more modest estimates emerged and the possibility of a run-off election increased.⁶

When the final count was released, Tsvangirai had won 47.9 percent of the vote, short of the 50 percent required to win an election outright.¹

A runoff election was scheduled for June 27, 2008, however, on June 22, Tsvangirai dropped out of the runoff election, citing threats from Mugabe and fears of widespread violence if he went through with the runoff.²