They were also the first ever elections in the country to be contested on a single roll, with no separate voting for whites and blacks.

In the presidential contest, incumbent Robert Mugabe secured his first full term; he had become President following the 1987 constitutional amendments after serving as Prime Minister since the country gained internationally recognised independence in 1980.

[1] Mugabe's ZANU–PF party won 117 of the 120 elected seats in Parliament.

Mugabe's regime and the ZANU-PF used paramilitary organizations to intimidate opposition, and also abused legislative and judicial powers to stay in power.

[3] A total of 4,799,324 voters were registered, but 576,432 were in uncontested constituencies.