When voters in Zimbabwe head to the polls for Monday’s general election, they will get a ballot that for the first time in two decades won’t have the name of ousted President Robert Mugabe on it. But many of the problems that built up in Mr. Mugabe’s nearly four decades in power will still have to be faced.
There will also be a level of suspense about the outcome that was never the case under the old regime.
Almost eight months after a soft coup unseated the authoritarian 94-year-old Mr. Mugabe, his former aide and successor, incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa finds himself in a tight race against Nelson Chamisa of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Mr. Mnangagwa, known as “the Crocodile,” is the former protege of Mr. Mugabe and served with as vice president in 2014 until he lost out in a power struggle shortly before Mr. Mugabe was forced from power last year.
Having long been implicated in the human rights abuses and economic decline that occurred under Mr. Mugabe’s reign, Mr. Mnangagwa now promises to respect civil liberties while revitalizing the devastated economy by attracting foreign investors.
Sunday’s vote is seen as a critical test of the new administration in Zimbabwe, and the ruling ZANU-PF party. A free and fair vote will be critical to attracting new investment and ending Mugabe-era sanctions
“That verdict would be the gateway to a successful recovery from Zimbabwe’s syndrome of crises. It is absolutely critical,” Zimbabwean political analyst Eldred Masunungure told the Reuters news agency.
Mr. Chamisa, nearly four decades younger than the 75-year-old president, has also had an extensive career in Zimbabwean politics. The charismatic pastor became a member of Parliament 15 years ago at the age of 25, and would be the youngest leader in Zimbabwe’s history if he wins.
He has expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of the upcoming election. Mr. Chamisa told the news website Independent Online this week that the vote is “on path to be determined as a fraud election,” adding that the Zimbabwe Election Commission was “biased and has lost the confidence of the people of Zimbabwe.”
The race could be close: An Afrobarometer poll released last Friday showed 40 percent of voters supporting Mr. Mnangagwa and 37 percent for Mr. Chamisa.
With international observers permitted in the country for the first time since 2002, the election will be a test of post-Mugabe Zimbabwe’s capability of holding credible elections.
“These elections will be key for the future of Zimbabwe. The future president, parliament and local government councils will have the responsibility of steering the transition process in the country,” Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s point woman on foreign affairs, said in a statement.
Economic reform will be a top priority for Zimbabwe’s next leader. The country has suffered since the botched policy by the Mugabe government in 2000 to encourage the seizure of productive white-owned farms by poor black Zimbabweans. Meant to address inequalities dating back to the colonial era, the policy instead resulted in stark production and productivity declines.
Since taking office last year, Mr. Mnangagwa has rolled back industry regulations in hopes of attracting foreign investors to the country and acknowledged that the Mugabe-era land reform policy did more harm than good.
“The critical thing is that during land reform, productivity collapsed totally, we moved from self-sufficiency to an insecure nation,” Mr. Mnangagwa told The Daily News last week.
Mr. Chamisa has told voters that any changes to the land reform policy would not displace black farmers who acquired land, but would also take into account the plight of the dispossessed white farmers.
“We are in agreement that skilled white farmers must be put back to work — but they must be allocated available land without reversing the land reform,” Mr. Chamisa tweeted last month.
Despite a wave of optimism after Mr. Mugabe was driven from power, Mr. Mnangagwa has received mixed reviews. Last month, the president narrowly escaped injury after a grenade exploded on stage at a campaign rally in Bulawayo. Two were killed in the attack, which Mr. Mnangagwa called a “cowardly act” perpetrated by opposition sympathizers.
— Frank Chikowore contributed to this report from Harare.
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