Zimbabwe’s August 23 presidential election has attracted several aspirants. The incumbent, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is among nine presidential candidates who have submitted their applications to the nomination court in Harare.
All aspirants, including those gunning for parliamentary and local authority seats, were expected to hand in their nomination papers by June 21.
Mnangagwa, 80, is seeking re-election on the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU – PF) ticket, promising to contain the runaway inflation.
Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, 45, has also thrown his hat into the ring hoping to trounce Mnangagwa this time around, with a promise to rebuild the economy.
Victory threshold
A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to be declared winner in the first round. If none of the contestants achieves that threshold, a run-off will follow.
During the 2018 election, Mnangagwa won in the first round with 50.8% of the vote, but violence broke out on the polling day, claiming six lives.
Chamisa challenged Mnangagwa's election victory in court, but the case was dismissed.
The voter registration exercise ended in March, ahead of the August election that will also see 300 parliamentarians and about 2,000 councillors elected.
