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
Movement for Democratic Change (1999–2005) faction then led by Arthur Mutambara and currently led by Welshman Ncube. The MDC began after the People's Working Convention in February 1999. In February 2000, Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), led by Robert Mugabe organized a constitutional referendum. The proposed change would have limited future presidents to two terms, but as it was not retroactive, Mugabe could have stood for another two terms. It would also have made his government and military officials immune from prosecution for any illegal acts committed while in office. Additionally, it legalized the confiscation of land owned by white people for