A constitutional referendum was held in

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

on 30 January 1979. It followed the

Internal Settlement The Internal Settlement (also called the Salisbury Agreement HC Deb 04 May 1978 vol 949 cc 455–592) was an agreement which was signed on 3 March 1978 between Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith and the moderate African nationalist leaders comp ...

drawn up between Prime Minister

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

and

Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (14 April 1925 – 8 April 2010), also commonly referred to as Bishop Muzorewa, was a Zimbabwean bishop and politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement t ...

, leader of the non-violent UANC. The new constitution would bring in black majority rule in the country, which would be renamed

Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, was a short-lived unrecognised sovereign state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 18 April 1980, though it lacked international recog ...

. The settlement was supported by the ruling

Rhodesian Front The Rhodesian Front (RF) was a conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia, subsequently known as Rhodesia. Formed in March 1962 by white Rhodesians opposed to decolonisation and majority rule, it won that December's general election and s ...

, but opposed by the Rhodesian Action Party, which had broken away from the Front. The referendum was open only to white voters, passing by 85%. Voter turnout was 71.5%. Despite the transition to majority rule following elections in April, the country remained unrecognised by the international community, and the Patriotic Front parties continued the Bush War until the signing of the

Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia ...

and fresh elections in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

Results

Aftermath

Rhodesian Action Party president Ina Bursey denounced the "yes" vote in the referendum, declaring "The Rhodesian people have sold their souls to the devil and deserve to reap the fruits of the whirlwind." She announced that the party would be dissolved and that she would be emigrating from Rhodesia.''The Economist''
Volume 270, Part 2, page 40

References

{{Zimbabwean elections

Constitutional referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

Constitutional referendums in Zimbabwe

Results

Aftermath

See also

References