Many in Zimbabwe are hoping that the coming election – on 30 July – will bring about real change in the country.
Last November, Robert Mugabe was forced out of power after 37 years, following a peaceful military takeover supported by the vast majority of the 17 million population. The coming election could decide Zimbabwe's course for decades to come.
Two Zimbabwean presidential candidate registered for first national election of the post-Mugabe era on Thursday.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his main rival Nelson Chamisa registered on Thursday for Zimbabwe’s first national elections of the post-Mugabe era, with hoping to rally younger voters against the generation that won independence.
The election pits Zanu-PF, the ruling party, against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the longstanding opposition. Zanu-PF is led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former vice president known as “the Crocodile” who took power when Mugabe was ousted. Opinion polls indicate a potentially close race, but one Zanu-PF should win.
Mnangagwa’s message is simple: a vote for Zanu-PF is a vote for economic growth. The average income in Zimbabwe will increase four, five, 10 times in coming years, he has promised the people.
The main opposition leader in Zimbabwe's election is Nelson Chamisa, the head of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change).
Recent polls show the MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, on 28%, and Zanu-PF on 39%.
