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Southern Africa

Zimbabwean President hard pitches for his re-election: Analysts forecast a tough election ahead

August 11, 2023

(3 minutes read)

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa asserted that no one would stop his party ruling the country. He told his supporters in the capital of Harare that they (Country) would be lost if they did not re-elect him at this month’s tense polls.

Zimbabwe votes on August 23 to elect the president and legislature. Analysts predict the elections to be a tense affair, amid a crackdown on dissent and a disaffected population battling hyperinflation, poverty, and high unemployment. Suspicions over possible election irregularities are rife in a nation that has been ruled by the same party since independence in 1980 and has a long history of disputed votes.

Mnangagwa is pitched for a second time face off against Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor who heads the country’s largest opposition party; the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). Chamisa accused Zanu-PF of resorting to dirty tricks because the party was in “panic mode. Analysts say that the CCC is stronger in disaffected urban areas while Zanu-PF is banking on a strong showing in its rural strongholds.

Mnangagwa accused Chamisa of promising Zimbabweans aid from Washington in exchange for votes. Ahead of his speech, Mnangagwa unveiled a borehole, which was drilled at the site. The president has been on a ribbon-cutting spree in recent weeks in an effort to reassure voters about the state of the economy and his governance.

Last week, he opened a coal mine, clinic, and a coal-fired power plant that he said would go a long way in easing electricity shortages as reported by www.trendsnafrica.com. Presently, the southern African country is facing a massive power shortage and as a result of that frequent power cuts.