International reaction to the 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election International reaction to the 2008 Zimbabwean presidential election The events of the first and second rounds of the Zimbabwean presidential election, which Robert Mugabe of ZANU-PF won on 27 June 2008 after his challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), withdrew from the process and declared it illegitimate, caused reactions from many international bodies. Other Zimbabwean groups have denounced the poll as well (e.g. the Heads of the Christian Denominations in Zimbabwe.) The South African Development Community (SADC) criticised the election in a statement on 29 June, saying that it "did not represent the will of the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act On March 9, 2008, Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe signed the Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Bill into law. The bill was passed through parliament in September 2007 by President Mugabe’s party, Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), in spite of resistance by the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The law will give Zimbabweans the right to take over and control many foreign-owned companies in Zimbabwe. Specifically, over 51 percent of all the businesses in the country will be transferred into local African hands. The bill defines an indigenous Zimbabwean as “any person