Mnangagwa urges humility in Zanu-PF vote campaign
ZIMBABWE’S President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday called for his ruling Zanu-PF party to humbly appeal for votes as he launched his campaign ahead of elections expected in July.
The election will be the first without Robert Mugabe in power since the country won independence from Britain in 1980.
Mnangagwa took over in November last year after Mugabe, now 94, was forced out of office when the military briefly took over.
Previous elections in Zimbabwe have been marred by electoral fraud, intimidation and violence, including the killing of scores of opposition supporters in 2008.
“I appeal to my fellow candidates to humbly go out and canvass for the votes,” Mnangagwa told thousands of provincial party representatives at the campaign launch in Harare.
Mnangagwa, 75, has repeatedly pledged to hold free and fair elections as he seeks to mend international relations, but he has also been accused of involvement in Zanu-PF’s past record of election violence.
He served as Mugabe’s deputy until he was sacked shortly before Mugabe was ousted.
Mnangagwa and the Zanu-PF will take on the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party, now led by Nelson Chamisa following the death of Morgan Tsvangirai in February.
The Zanu-PF manifesto vows to repair the economy and take annual GDP growth to 6%, bring in $5-billion (R62.5billion) foreign investment a year and build 1.5 million new houses.
Masvingo State University political scientist Takavafira Zhou said Zanu-PF offered little that was new for voters despite the fall of Mugabe. “You cannot expect solutions from the people who created the problems.”