Ndebele–Shona ethnic animosities came to the fore before, during and after the June and July 1985 general elections. Violence shifted from wartime residual to ethnic-based violence. The Zimbabwe government was heavily influenced by strong ethnic identities and the military. Ethnic polarisation problems stood out as the major challenge to nation building in Zimbabwe. Ethnic differences were key drivers of election violence in 1985. The 1985 elections took place against a backdrop of bitter and mutual mistrust between Zanu PF and PF Zapu, personified by Mugabe and Nkomo, and their Shona- and Ndebele-based political support, respectively. The problem of dissidents in parts of Matabeleland and the Midlands, as well as Fifth Brigade reprisals not only against the bandits but also civilians in these regions, openly played out ethnic hostilities between these two main political rivalries. Zanu PF ran the country under a state of emergency justified on the three grounds of containing the dissident problem, dealing with Mozambican Renamo bandits from the eastern border and the destabilisation attacks by the then apartheid South African military. There was no genuine or concerted effort to heal the wounds of war by all sides despite a rhetorical reconciliation policy.