Zimbabwe African People's Union – Federal Party

The Zimbabwe African People's Union – Federal Party is a minor Zimbabwean political party, based in Matabeleland. ZAPU-FP split from Agrippa Madlela's ZAPU party, purportedly a revival of those members of ZAPU who had rejected the 1987 merger with ZANU-PF ^[1][2] in January 2002, following ZAPU's decision not to contest the Zimbabwean presidential election, 2002 ^[3] and amidst accusations that ZAPU-FP founder Paul Siwela had accepted payments from ZANU-PF to run in the election and thereby split the anti-Mugabe vote in Matabeleland.^[4]

ZAPU-FP has a federalist, Matabeleland-centric ideology similar to that of PUMA. Paul Siwela was expelled from the leadership of the party in January 2008 due to initiating unauthorised talks with PUMA with a view to forming an electoral coalition in the Zimbabwean elections of 2008.^[5] Secretary general Sikhumbuzo Dube claimed the role of acting president of ZAPU-FP in his stead and Siwela ultimately stood unsuccessfully for election as a candidate for the Federal Democratic Union.

The party contested the Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2005 for the Zimbabwean Senate, gaining 213 votes (0.03%) ^[6] contested the Zimbabwean House of Assembly in the Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2008 in Nketa, gaining 195 votes ^[7] and the Senate election in Gwabalanda (Bulawayo), gaining 734 votes.^[8]

Along with three other minor opposition parties, ZAPU-FP is a member of the Zimbabwe Organisation of Opposition Political Parties.^[9]

References