SNAPSHOTS

Previewing Zimbabwe's General Election

Aug 18, 2023 | 17:38 GMT

Supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party attend a campaign rally in Harare, Zimbabwe on Aug. 9, 2023.
Supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party attend a campaign rally in Harare, Zimbabwe on Aug. 9, 2023.

(JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images)

In Zimbabwe, the ruling party appears poised to win another presidential term by any means necessary, portending sustained and persistent corruption and economic stagnation for years to come. Zimbabwe will hold general elections on Aug. 23, during which President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be seeking reelection against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. Under the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, Mnangagwa has campaigned on normalizing relations with the West and economic relief for the southern African country's 16 million people. For his part, Chamisa -- who leads the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) and was a close runner-up in the 2018 presidential election -- has promised to redistribute wealth to poorer Zimbabweans and crack down on corruption, accusing the Mnangagwa administration of misappropriation of funds and state capture of the mining sector. While some polls have predicted a close election and a potential runoff, a July 10 survey by the...

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