THE race for the Zimbabwean presidency is heating up as the electoral commission announced that eleven candidates will compete in the upcoming August election. The commission’s decision came after several hopefuls were disqualified for failing to raise the hefty $20,000 required to secure a spot on the ballot.
Incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa, re
presenting the Zanu-PF party, is expected to face off against pastor and lawyer Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who is seen as his strongest challenger in the race.
Late on Thursday, the electoral commission confirmed the disqualification of eleven candidates from the August 23 election, among them Linda Masarira, who failed to meet the payment deadline. The news shattered hopes of having a female candidate contending for the top office. Expressing her frustration, Masarira stat
ed, ‘I have been clear that the $20,000 is exorbitant, it is discriminatory in nature and violates the section that speaks to non-discrimination in the eyes of the law.’
Zimbabwe is set to elect a new president and parliament on August 23, with Mnangagwa and Chamisa emerging as the primary contenders in their efforts to revive the country’s dwindling economy. However, an independent candidate for the presidency has also emerged in recent weeks.
Saviour Kasukuwere, a former minister in Robert Mugabe’s cabinet who fled the country during a coup that ousted Mugabe, will run as an independent candidate. Political analysts predict that Kasukuwere may attract votes in Zanu-PF strongholds, adding a new dynamic to the electoral landscape.
Amidst an economic collapse marked by the Zimbabwe dollar plummeting over 50 percent against the dollar in June, 80-year-old Mnangagwa is seeking another term. As he filed his nomination at the High Court on Wednesday, Mnangagwa applauded the democratic process, saying, ‘Countrywide the process is going very well and it shows that Zimbabwe is now a mature democracy. This process is so peaceful and that is what we want.’
Chamisa, who narrowly lost the previous election in 2018, expressed confidence in his party’s ability to assume government control this time around, signalling a fierce battle for the presidency.
