Zimbabwe’s first national election in the post-Mugabe era will be held in July, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on the weekend.
“As a nation, party and government, we are looking forward to very peaceful, transparent and harmonised elections in July this year,” he told reporters following meetings with South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday night.
This will be a historic event for the Southern African nation and the first time since its independence from Britain in 1980 that Robert Mugabe won’t be on the ballot.
UNDP Administrator, Mr Achim Steiner concluded a three-day visit of Zimbabwe on Saturday, noting that a peaceful and credible election is vital for setting the country on the right economic and political pathway.
“UNDP is committed to continue supporting the preparatory process for the election and economic recovery efforts,” he said in a statement from the UN.
The President has made promises that the polls later this year will be free from the violence that has rocked previous elections and has damaged some of Zimbabwe’s foreign relations.
Mnangagwa also plans to hold a roundtable meeting with opposing political leaders to discuss committing to a non-violent election.
Mnangagwa has previously met with many of our AE International team, including Stephen Mbogo and Michael Cassidy.
Mnangagwa spoke at AE’s National Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Harare back in 2015, which was a part of the Harare Pan African Leadership Initiative.
AE are set to run the Harare University Mission in the capital in August this year and are aiming to reach over 14,000 people for Christ.
Please be praying with us as Zimbabwe prepare for this historic election.
For more African political news from AE in March, read about the recent Sierra Leone election.