HARARE: Zimbabwe will hold nationwide polls on the 23rd of August, it was announced in the government gazette Wednesday, ending months of speculation over the election date.
Elections for the National Assembly (NA) and local governments would also be held that day.
Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF party, which has been ruling since independence in 1980, will face a challenge from the Citizens Coalition for Change led by Nelson Chamisa, a forty-five-year-old lawyer, and pastor.
He would contest as Mnangagwa’s challenger for a second time.
After flip-flops and prolonged uncertainty, AFP reported, Chamisa called on Mnangagwa on Tuesday to set a date for the elections.
The CCC also alleged rigging over the electoral roll, saying a number of voters, including some key politicians, had their names misplaced or removed from the register.
Zimbabwe’s Population
According to the latest census, Zimbabwe, a country landlocked between South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, and Botswana, has a population of fifteen million.
Mnangagwa replaced dictator Robert Mugabe in 2017 after an army-led coup but faces severe criticism of authoritarianism and discontent over the economy.
The country has been grappling with deepening poverty, crippling hyperinflation, and chronic power cuts for years.
In 2018, Mnangagwa narrowly won the violence-stained polls with 50.8% of the vote, which Chamisa declared a fraud.
Political experts say Chamisa faces a tough challenge this time, in the face of a crackdown against CCC events and arrests of party leaders.
Zimbabwe’s Rankings
Zimbabwe is ranked 137th out of 180 nations in Reporters Without Borders (RWB) 2022 World Press Freedom Index and 157th out of 180 nations by Transparency International (TI) for perceived corruption.
