On 4 March 1980, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won Zimbabwe's first free elections, securing 57 of the 80 common roll seats in the new 100-seat House of Assembly with 63 per cent of the national vote. The elections, held on 14 February 1980 following the Lancaster House Agreement that ended the Rhodesian Bush War, marked a decisive moment in the country's transition from white minority rule to majority government. Joshua Nkomo's Patriotic Front-ZAPU won 20 seats, drawing support primarily from the Ndebele-speaking regions of Matabeleland, whilst Bishop Abel Muzorewa's United African National Council, which had led the previous internationally unrecognised Zimbabwe Rhodesia government, won just three seats. Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front won all 20 seats reserved for white voters on a separate roll.
The British-appointed Governor, Lord Soames, immediately invited Mugabe to form a government. Mugabe, who had returned from exile to address a crowd of 200,000 supporters in January 1980, appealed for national unity and reconciliation upon his victory, pledging to protect private property and guarantee pensions for white civil servants. He formed a Government of National Unity that included members from ZAPU and other parties. Zimbabwe was formally granted independence on 18 April 1980, with Mugabe sworn in as the country's first Prime Minister.
