Zimbabwe sets first post-Mugabe general elections for July 30

AP | Zimbabwe will hold elections on July 30, according to an announcement by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a government notice.

These will be Zimbabwe’s first-ever elections since independence in 1980 without the participation of Robert Mugabe, who resigned in November amid pressure from the military, his party and the public.

Mnangagwa will be seeking his own mandate and that of the ruling ZANU-PF party. The elections will be for president as well as for parliamentary and council seats.

Nelson Chamisa, 40, head of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, will be Mnangagwa’s main challenger, and there are many smaller parties.

A runoff will be held on September 8 if none of the presidential candidates wins an outright majority, according to Mnangagwa’s proclamation.

Mnangagwa, a former longtime ally of Mugabe, has pledged a “free, fair and credible” election. He has invited international observers for the first time since 2002 as part of efforts to re-engage with the international community after decades of isolation and sanctions.

Past elections in Zimbabwe have been characterized by allegations of fraud and military-led violence. Mnangagwa has repeatedly said this year’s elections will be different.
So far, opposition parties have been campaigning without the previous threats of violence and arrest.

More than 5 million of Zimbabwe’s 13 million people have registered to vote.

Zimbabweans working and living outside the country will be unable to vote unless they travel back home after a court ruling against postal votes. Millions of Zimbabweans reside outside the country after many fled economic and political problems that beset the country, although there are no official figures of Zimbabweans in the diaspora.