Robert Mugabe his defeat, referring to them as "enemies of Zimbabwe". The June 2000 parliamentary elections were Zimbabwe's most important since 1980. Sixteen parties took part, although the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)—led by trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai—was particularly successful. During the election campaign, MDC activists were regularly harassed and in some cases killed. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum documented 27 murders, 27 rapes, 2466 assaults, and 617 abductions, with 10,000 people displaced by violence; the majority, although not all, of these actions were carried out by ZANU-PF supporters. Observers from the European Union (EU) ruled that the election was neither free
Robert Mugabe reserved for white representatives, and left parliament less relevant and independent. In the build-up to the 1990 election, parliamentary reforms increased the number of seats to 120; of these, twenty were to be appointed by the President and ten by the Council of Chiefs. This measure made it more difficult for any opposition to Mugabe to gain a parliamentary majority. The main opposition party in that election were the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), launched in April 1989 by Tekere; although a longstanding friend of Mugabe, Tekere accused him of betraying the revolution and establishing a dictatorship. ZANU-PF propaganda made threats