Zimbabwe is beginning a new era. Last week's elections mark an end to the unchallenged rule of President Robert Mugabe. The president now must make a historic choice. He can either be remembered as the man who led his country into independence or he can aspire to be the man who did that and led his country into the future.
Last week's elections mark the first electoral defeat for Mr. Mugabe. His ruling ZANU-PF party was handed a stunning rebuke at the polls by the Movement for Democratic Change. It was a setback and a humiliation for the man who has dominated his nation since it obtained independence from Britain 20 years ago. Mr. Mugabe and his party will keep their grip on power in Zimbabwe, but that hold has been loosened. Governance now will require working with the opposition.
The MDC, led by Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, a former trade unionist, captured 57 seats in the 150-seat Parliament. The ruling party won 62. (The president appoints an additional 30 seats; a small opposition party has the remaining one.) This is a remarkable victory, since Zimbabwe has never had an opposition party of any significance, the MDC was formed only nine months ago and the campaign was marked by violence and intimidation by Mr. Mugabe's backers that left more than 30 people dead -- most of them MDC supporters. International monitors have refused to certify the elections as free and fair, and Mr. Tsvangirai is demanding a recount in some election districts. Yet with all these handicaps the MDC has shaken the foundations of Mr. Mugabe's rule.