Eleven people in Zimbabwe have been cleared to run for president in the August 23, 2023 elections.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition politician Nelson Chamisa are among those given the greenlight to run for election, Utoile Silaigwana, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, has said.
Others in the race for the country’s top seat are Joseph Busha, Trust Chikohora, Blessing Kasiyamhuru, Saviour Kasukuwere, Lovemore Madhuku, Wilbert Mubaiwa, Gwinyai Muzorewa, Douglas Mwonzora and Wilson Peter.
The nomination court, which reviews aspirants’ election papers, sat in the capital Harare on Wednesday and cleared the 11 to run for office after meeting constitutional requirements.
President Mnangagwa’s party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), fielded candidates in all election cadres, resulting in the ruling outfit securing 53 council seats unopposed.
On August 23, Zimbabweans will also vote for members of parliament and councillors.
Run-off
If no presidential candidate gets more than 50% of the votes in the first round of voting, a run-off will be held on October 2.
The presidential election results must be announced within five days after voting ends, according to the Zimbabwean law.
The economy is at the centre of presidential campaigns as Zimbabwe struggles with a high cost of living, a weakening currency and hyperinflation.
The two frontrunners – President Mnangagwa and Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Party – have pledged to contain the situation, with Chamisa saying he hopes to “right the wrongs committed by Mnangagwa’s administration.”
Mnangagwa, on the other hand, says he should be given a second term to steer Zimbabwe to economic prosperity.
Another face-off
Eighty-year-old Mnangagwa and 45-year-old Chamisa faced off in the previous election in 2018, with Mnangagwa getting 2.46 million votes (50.8%) against Chamisa’s 2.15 million votes (44.3%) to secure his first term in office.
In the last election, 23 people ran for president, but this time around the number has reduced, probably after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission raised the nomination fee to $20,000 from $1,000.
Mnangagwa, 80, has led Zimbabwe since the military forced Robert Mugabe to resign in 2017. He was a long-time ally of Mugabe before the pair fell out.
There is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Estimates show that as of May 31, 2023 there were some 6.1 million voters in Zimbabwe, a country of more than 15 million people.
