Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai during the campaign period for the second round of the election. On 22 June 2008, Tsvangirai announced at a press conference that he was withdrawing from the run-off against Mugabe, due to be held on 27 June, describing it as a "violent sham" and saying that his supporters risked being killed if they voted for him. He vowed that the MDC would ultimately prevail and that its victory could "only be delayed". Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai The Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) is a political party and currently the main opposition party in the House of
Movement for Democratic Change (1999–2005) redistribution to black farmers without compensation. The MDC led opposition to the referendum, in which the government was ultimately defeated, after a low 20% turnout, by a strong urban vote fueled by an effective SMS campaign. Mugabe declared that he would "abide by the will of the people". The vote was a surprise to ZANU-PF, and an embarrassment before parliamentary elections due in mid-April. This success fueled the rise of the MDC. In the 2000 parliamentary elections, the MDC won 57 of the 120 seats up for election. This marked the first time that an opposition party had achieved more