BP85: The public mood on Zimbabwe’s inclusive government

After protracted political negotiations to resolve Zimbabwe’s chronic political impasse, which were facilitated by former South African President Thabo Mbeki under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a tripartite agreement was signed by incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Morgan Tsvangirai of the main Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) and Arthur Mutambara of the splinter MDC-M formation. The Global Political Agreement (GPA) was a framework for the three partners to work together to resolve the country’s multi-layered crisis and the institutional framework was inaugurated with the formation in February 2009 of a coalition government commonly referred to as the Inclusive Government (IG).  The IG received a mixed reception from the Zimbabwe public, with some praising it while others condemned it as a poor substitute for a democratically elected government. Afrobarometer sought the public’s adjudication on this matter by asking Zimbabweans their opinions on a number of issues relating to the IG. This Briefing Paper presents the survey’s findings.