The MDC was formed from many members of the broad coalition of civic society groups and individuals that campaigned for a "No" vote in the 2000 constitutional referendum, in particular the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

The National Council convened in Harare at Harvest on 12 October 2005 and voted for participation after secret ballot.

[3] In July 2006, after attending a political meeting in the Harare suburb of Mabvuku, MP Trudy Stevenson was attacked[5] and suffered panga wounds to the back of her neck and head.

[6][3] In the 2008 presidential election, the President of MDC Prof Arthur Mutambara backed Simba Makoni.

[7][8] In the lead up to the 2018 Zimbabwean general election, the MDC-N joined an electoral coalition with Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) and other political parties which was called the MDC Alliance.