Zimbabwe today: hope against grim realities

Zimbabwe's ruling party received the most serious challenge to its twenty year rule when a nine‐month old opposition party won almost 50% of the contested seats in the recent June 2000 parliamentary election. This update identifies the key contestants, their major electoral issues, their campaign strategies, and their electoral fortunes. It concludes with an attempt to make sense of current dynamics and possibilities. Most urgently, will the ruling party respond to the pressures of a new strong opposition to adhere to the rule of law or will it take the country further along the path of anarchy?