# Forum Party

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox political party
|name               = Forum Party
|native_name        = 
|logo               = 
|leader             = [Enoch Dumbutshena](/source/Enoch_Dumbutshena) 
|founded            = 28 March 1993
|dissolved          = 
|merged             = [Movement for Democratic Change](/source/Movement_for_Democratic_Change_(1999%E2%80%932005))
|predecessor        = [Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe](/source/Conservative_Alliance_of_Zimbabwe)
|headquarters       = [Harare](/source/Harare)
|membership         = 
|ideology           = [Conservatism](/source/Conservatism) 
|position           = [Centre-right](/source/Centre-right_politics)
|national           = 
|colours            = 
|seats1_title       = 
|seats1             = 
|seats2_title       = 
|seats2             = 
|symbol             = 
|colorcode          =Purple
|country            = Zimbabwe
}}
{{Politics of Zimbabwe}}
The '''Forum Party of Zimbabwe''' (FPZ) was a [centre-right](/source/centre-right) [conservative](/source/conservative) political party in [Zimbabwe](/source/Zimbabwe).<ref name=elections>{{cite web| url = http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2361_95.htm | title = Zimbabwe: parliamentary elections Parliament, 1995 | accessdate = 2009-04-21 | work = [Inter-Parliamentary Union](/source/Inter-Parliamentary_Union)}}</ref>

The Forum Party was formed on 28 March 1993 and was led by a former Zimbabwean Chief Justice [Enoch Dumbutshena](/source/Enoch_Dumbutshena).<ref name=thirsty>{{cite news | title = Still thirsty for change | publisher = [The Economist](/source/The_Economist) | page = 38 | date = 1993-08-14 }}</ref> It was formed by a merger of the Forum for Democratic Reform (Trust), which Dumbutshena had led, and the Open Forum. One of its other predecessors was the [Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe](/source/Conservative_Alliance_of_Zimbabwe) which had been led by former Rhodesian Prime Minister [Ian Smith](/source/Ian_Smith). Smith had chaired a meeting in 1992 hoping to unite opposition groups of all races against Mugabe's government.<ref name=contemporary>{{cite book |title= The politics of opposition in contemporary Africa |last= Olukoshi |first= Adebayo O. |year= 1998 |publisher= Nordic Africa Institute |isbn= 91-7106-419-2 |page= 103 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aGZTMHix4RQC}}</ref>

The party called for powers to be [devolved](/source/Devolution) to the [provinces](/source/Provinces_of_Zimbabwe) and government expenditure to be cut, for instance by cutting the number of [cabinet minister](/source/Minister_(government))s from 43 to 14. The party soon became the biggest of the opposition parties,<ref name=thirsty/> and analysts saw it as a serious threat to the dominance of the [Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front](/source/Zimbabwe_African_National_Union_%E2%80%93_Patriotic_Front).<ref name=contemporary/>

However, by the [1995 parliamentary elections](/source/Zimbabwean_parliamentary_election%2C_1995) the party was suffering from internal divisions,<ref name=competition>{{cite news | title = No competition | publisher = [The Economist](/source/The_Economist) | page = 46 | date = 1995-03-11 }}</ref> with a breakaway group forming a rival [Forum Party for Democracy](/source/Forum_Party_for_Democracy).<ref name=contemporary/> The party stood only 28 candidates in the 1995 elections and failed to gain any seats, winning 5.9% of the vote.<ref name=elections/>

The party merged into the [Movement for Democratic Change](/source/Movement_for_Democratic_Change_(1999%E2%80%932005)) in December 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 December 1999|title=Zimbabwe: Forum disbands, joins MDC|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/199912090182.html|access-date=12 November 2021|publisher=Financial Gazette (Harare)|via=AllAfrica}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Zimbabwean political parties}}

Category:1993 establishments in Zimbabwe
Category:Conservative parties in Zimbabwe
Category:Defunct political parties in Zimbabwe
Category:Political parties established in 1993
Category:Political parties with year of disestablishment missing
Category:Political parties disestablished in 1999

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Forum Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_Party) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_Party?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.