Zimbabwean President Appeals for Re-Election Amidst Tensions and Economic Challenges

On Wednesday, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa told more than 150,000 of his fans in the nation’s capital city of Harare that they would be “lost” if they did not re-elect him in the tense elections that are taking place this month. “If Harare fails to vote Zanu-PF, you will be lost,” the 80-year-old strongman declared as he addressed a crowd for his party Zanu-PF near the city center. He was speaking at the rally for his party, Zanu-PF.

During the party’s first large rally in the nation’s capital, he made the statement, “No one will stop us from ruling this country.” On August 23, Zimbabweans will go to the polls to pick a new president and legislature. Analysts anticipate that the election will be a contentious event, given the recent crackdown on dissent and the country’s disgruntled population, which is struggling with hyperinflation, poverty, and high unemployment rates.

There is a widespread prevalence of suspicion regarding the possibility of electoral irregularities in a nation that has been under the same party’s rule since it gained independence in 1980 and has a long history of contesting ballots. Over one hundred buses were organized to transport individuals from various provinces to the event as part of the preparations.

At the event location, supporters were provided with lunch packs and party insignia. According to statements made to AFP by a number of street sellers based in the Mbare district of Harare, they were ordered to put their wares away and board buses that were going to the event.

Mnangagwa will face off against Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor who leads the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), the country’s main opposition party, for a second time. On Tuesday evening, during the launch of the party’s manifesto, Chamisa accused Zanu-PF of “resorting to dirty tricks” because the party was in “panic mode.”

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According to experts, the CCC is more powerful in urban neighborhoods where residents are dissatisfied, while Zanu-PF is placing its hopes on a successful performance in the rural communities it dominates. Mnangagwa suggested that Chamisa had bribed Zimbabweans with aid from the United States government in exchange for votes. He argued that it was terrible that Chamisa wanted Biden to be in charge of Zimbabwe’s development because “every country” was a product of its own people.

Mnangagwa revealed the existence of a borehole that had been drilled at the location in advance of his address. In recent weeks, in an effort to reassure people about the status of the economy and his government, the president has gone on a ribbon-cutting spree at various locations across the country. In the past week, he has established a coal mine, a clinic, and a coal-fired power plant, all of which he claims will significantly contribute to reducing the severity of the current electrical crisis.

Mnangagwa won a violent election with 50.8% of the vote at the latest polls in 2018, earning him the nickname “The Crocodile” for his political shrewdness. He stated that there are “negative people outside the country who want us to be violent” and went on to say that “peace continues to be our beacon.”