President Mnangagwa votes

Kwekwe (New Ziana) – President Emmerson Mnangagwa cast his ballot on Wednesday at Sherwood Primary School in Kwekwe, as Zimbabweans countrywide similarly headed to the polls in a general election to choose a new president, and parliamentary and local government representatives.

He is seeking a second presidential term and is being challenged by nine other aspirants in Wednesday’s one-day election, seen as the country’s lest acrimonious, at least the campaign phase of it.

President Mnangagwa was accompanied by First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa to cast his ballot in his home constituency in central Zimbabwe.

They voted early in the morning.

He is seen as the front runner in the election, with a number of pre-election surveys putting him clearly ahead of his challengers.

President Mnangagwa campaigned on the platform of peace, unity and development, in the latter case, citing monumental economic and social infrastructural projects accomplished in his first term which have transformed the lives of millions across the country.

Among other things, these include power upgrades to end electricity rationing, dam construction for both irrigation and power generation, and massive road and associated infrastructure construction and upgrades.

His administration is also credited with coming up with sound economic reform policies which have helped to attract billion-dollar local and foreign investments in the last five years.

President Mnangagwa’s closest challenger is Nelson Chamisa of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, who also came second to him in the last general election in 2018.

Going into the election, the CCC focused on economic difficulties the country is experiencing, which in the main are a result of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West to force it to reverse its land reforms under which excess farmland was compulsorily acquired from white farmers to resettle landless blacks.

Instead, the CCC, which is widely seen as fronting Western geopolitical interests in Zimbabwe, blamed the government for the economic difficulties, and promised to have sanctions lifted.

Voting opened at 7 o’clock in the morning, and is expected to end at 7 o’clock in the evening, after which counting of votes will immediately begin.

Early reports countrywide indicated mixed voter turnouts, with some areas experiencing high interest, and others low.

Over six million people are registered to vote in the election.

The results of the election are due within five days of the vote.
New Ziana