Monday’s vote is the first since Mugabe was forced to step down in November after a de facto coup and, as such, is a major national test. Mnangagwa is favourite although the latest opinion poll said the race was too close to call.
The run-up to the presidential and parliamentary election has been peaceful compared to previous polls but there are reports of intimidation and coercion in rural constituencies, and state media is biased towards the ruling ZANU–PF party.
Mnangagwa has outspent Chamisa on the campaign trail, buying all-terrain double cab vehicles for more than 300 ZANU-PF parliamentary candidates. He has occupied most billboards in major towns and dominated the airwaves with adverts.
Little separates the two men’s policies but Mnangagwa is 75 and represents the war generation that has ruled since independence in 1980, while Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer, embodies the hopes of many young people.
The election could confirm the country’s rehabilitation after years as a pariah under Mugabe and help unlock foreign investment, especially if Western observers, monitoring for the first time since 2002, declare it fair.
