Voters wait in line outside polling stations in Mbare, Harare
HARARE, Aug 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Voting is underway in Zimbabwe’s second general elections since a 2017 coup deposed the late ruler Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabweans will elect a new president, 210 national lawmakers and 1,970 local government and municipal leaders.
Voting officially began at more than 12,300 polling stations at 7am and is expected to close at 7pm.
Due to delay in the arrival of voting materials in some cities, the electoral commission has said voters in queue at 7 pm will be allowed to vote.
Approximately 6.6 million Zimbabweans have registered to vote in what is expected to be a keenly contested election.
Twelve candidates, including one woman, are on the ballot paper, but the main contest is expected to be between incumbent 80-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa, known as the “the crocodile”, and 45-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mnangagwa narrowly beat Chamisa in a disputed election in 2018. — NNN-AGENCIES
