The result was a victory for Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union, contesting the election as ZANU–PF, which won 57 of the 80 common roll seats, giving it a majority in the 100-member House of Assembly.

British Army forces then set up 16 assembly points throughout Southern Rhodesia where Patriotic Front guerillas could disarm and return to civilian life; 18,300 did so by the deadline of 6 January.

[4] While the Rhodesian authorities were in charge of administration on the ground, the formal Returning Officer was Sir John Boynton (1918–2007) who had just retired as chief executive of Cheshire County Council.

Tongogara was known to be a supporter of the two Patriotic Front parties, ZANU-PF and ZAPU, fighting the election with a joint list, and it was immediately speculated that his death was arranged by opponents of this policy.

[7] On 13 January, Joshua Nkomo, leader of ZAPU, returned to Southern Rhodesia after three years' exile and addressed a rally of between 100,000 and 150,000 at Highfield township in Salisbury.

[9][10] Abel Muzorewa, who had led the unity government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, campaigned vigorously on behalf of his United African National Council which had won the most votes the previous year.

However, attendance at his rallies was reported to be poor, and Muzorewa's habit of inveighing against other Zimbabwean politicians was thought to detract from his appeal as a man of unity.

The Registrar-General of Elections refused to put the party's intended logo on ballot papers because it contained an image of an AK47 rifle and he considered it detrimental to public order.

[13] They campaigned most heavily in the Ndebele areas, where the ZAPU army, ZIPRA, made particular strides in trying to integrate with the Southern Rhodesian forces.

In addition, Nick McNally, who had led the liberal 'National Unifying Force' which opposed white dominance, ran in Mount Pleasant in the Salisbury suburbs.