Elections in Zimbabwe and 1 male and 1 female seat for people with disabilities elected on separate ballots using FPTP by an electoral college designated by the National Disability Board. Zimbabwe is a one party dominant state; the dominant party being the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front. Opposition parties are permitted, including the MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC-M led by Welshman Ncube, both formations of the original Movement for Democratic Change created in 1999. Recent elections (March 2008) have witnessed former ruling party finance minister Simba Makoni standing as an independent presidential candidate. On 12–13 February 2000, there
Robert Mugabe in power. Several Southern African states remonstrated with him at a summit in Harare in September 2001. In 2002, the British Commonwealth expelled Zimbabwe from among its ranks; Mugabe blamed this on anti-black racism, a view echoed by South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki favoured a policy of "quiet diplomacy" in dealing with Mugabe, and prevented the African Union (AU) from introducing sanctions against him. The Africa-Europe Summit, scheduled to take place in Lisbon in April 2003, was deferred repeatedly because African leaders refused to attend while Mugabe was banned; it eventually took place in 2007 with Mugabe in attendance.