Zimbabwe To Hold General Election On August 23rd

Zimbabwe will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on August  23rd, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Wednesday, as the southern African country continues to battle a raging economic crisis.

Mnangagwa, elected president in 2018, will be seeking a second term in office. His election followed a military coup that deposed Robert Mugabe in 2017.

The 80-year-old’s main rival is a lawyer and the pastor is 45-year-old Nelson Chamisa who leads the newly formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

The opposition accuses the party in power, Zanu-PF, of repression against political opponents.

On Tuesday, Chamisa accused President Mnangagwa of being vague about the dates of the election.

The Zanu-PF party has been in power in Zimbabwe since the country’s independence in 1980.