On Monday, July 30, Zimbabweans head to the polls to choose their next government and this is no regular election, voters will not just elect their next president but also vote in a raft of legislative and local elections.
For the first time since white minority rule ended in 1980, Zimbabweans will not have the option of voting for Robert Mugabe when choosing a new President.
The front-runners in the presidential race are the 75 year old incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), and Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer and pastor who took over leadership of his party after its founder, Morgan Tsvangirai, died in February.
Both parties have pledged to revive mining, agriculture and manufacturing, ensure there is macro-economic stability and fiscal discipline, bring debt under control and modernize governance in Zimbabwe.
10 things you should know about the Zimbabwe election
1. Observers from the international community will be allowed to scrutinise the election for the first time since 2002. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has invited several observers from international and African countries in an effort to restore transparency and credibility to the election process.
2. About 5.5 million Zimbabweans have registered to vote of which two hundred thousand are new voters, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).
3. The ZEC has set up a total of 10,985 polling stations across the country’s 1,958 wards.
4. Altogether 23 candidates will contest the presidential election. Fifty-five parties are also contesting the parliamentary election, the biggest number by far in Zimbabwe's post-colonial history.
5. The presidential term is five years and the president is elected by a simple majority. A second round of voting takes place if no candidate receives a majority in the first round.
6. Out of the 23 candidates, 4 women are part of the presidential race; Doctor Joice Mujuru, Doctor Thokozani Khupe, Violet Mariyacha and Melbah Dzapasi will be taking on the men in the elections.
7. The presidential election outcome would be announced within five days according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). If no candidate gains the required majority to be declared a winner, the elections goes into a second round with the two leading candidates contesting each other
8. ZEC has announced that in the event of a second round, voters will be back at the polls to choose their new leader on the 8th of September 2018.
9. An investigation by a team of experts found more than 250 000 errors or so-called "ghost voters" on the voter’s roll. The ZEC has denied these allegations and said a new finger print ID system will catch duplicate voters
10. The results for the last elections are as follows:
Robert Mugabe (Zanu-PF) - 2,110,434
Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) - 1,172,349
Welshman Ncube (MDC) - 92,637
Dumiso Dabengwa (Zimbabwe African People's Union) - 25,416
Munodei Kisinoti Mukwazhe (Zimbabwe Development Party) - 9,931
What to Expect From Zimbabwe's First Vote Post-Mugabe
Will the election be free and fair?
Not according to the opposition. It says controls over the ballot papers are inadequate, dead and underage people are included on the voters’ roll, and the electoral commission is biased in favour of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front.
Who’s likely to win?
Mnangagwa probably has the advantage. Even though there have been reports of intimidation and coercion, and speculations that the state media is biased towards the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF).
What are your expectations? The African Elections Project will be covering the elections online especially on Twitter. Join the conversation!
AEP
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