APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) As the sun rises on August 23, Zimbabweans across the nation are heading to the polls to cast their votes in what is being touted as a pivotal moment in the country’s history.
This election, only the second since the ouster of long-time leader Robert Mugabe in 2017, is being seen as a litmus test for the future of this southern African nation.
The air is thick with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
On one hand, there is a palpable sense of optimism among supporters of main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa.
More than 10,000 CCC supporters, many clad in bright yellow, packed the Robert Mugabe Square in downtown Harare on Monday for the final campaign rally for the 45-year-old Chamisa who is hoping to be lucky this time around after narrowly losing to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 80, in the disputed last elections held in July 2018.
“I will vote for Chamisa because he is one of us young people and I believe he is the right person to pull Zimbabwe out of the current situation where millions of our people are all over the (southern African) region doing all sorts of menial job,” said Ishmael Charema, 28, who said he holds an ICT degree but has failed to get a job since graduating several years ago.
Like many other CCC supporters, Charema sees Chamisa as the proverbial Moses sent to rescue them from clutches of Mnangagwa’s ZANU PF, which has been in power since April 1980.
“We can’t continue to be the butt of jokes across the region while our leaders play Russian, or is it Chinese, roulette with our futures. The time for change is now.”
Mnangagwa has been accused of allegedly handing over large swatches of farm or mining land to Chinese companies amid claims that some of the Asian businesspeople have gone on to kick out families from their farmland in their quest for minerals.
On the other hand, there is an undercurrent of voter fatigue, with some seeing the plebiscite as an exercise in futility.
“I am not sure if I will go and vote tomorrow because nothing is going to change. It’s an open secret that these elections are already rigged, so there is no need to waste my time by helping the powers-that-be to justify their claim that they have delivered a credible poll,” said Harare resident Omega Nyangoni.
Previous Zimbabwean elections have been marred by allegations of rigging, with the disputed 2008 and 2018 polls invoking bad memories for many locals.
In 2008, results of the March presidential poll were delayed by more than 30 days amid allegations that the lengthy delay in the announcement of the outcome was used to doctor the results after then main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had defeated Mugabe by a wide margin.
The final results, which were eventually announced in early May, showed that Tsvangirai had narrowly won the elections and that there was, therefore, need for a rerun since neither the opposition leader nor Mugabe had garnered more than 50 percent of the vote.
A bloody backlash ensured against voters ahead of the rerun, with scores killed or maimed.
The 2018 presidential outcome was also marred by rigging allegations, with Chamisa taking Mnangagwa and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to court over the results.
The opposition leader claimed that the results collected by his team at polling stations did not tally with the ones eventually announced by ZEC.
The court, however, dismissed the case over lack of evidence.
The state of the economy is likely to be a core concern for voters as Zimbabweans decide who to vote for on Wednesday.
The country continues to face significant economic challenges, including high unemployment rates, high inflation and currency devaluation.
Figures published by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency on Tuesday showed that annualised inflation declined to 77.2 percent from 101.3 percent in July although an unstable currency continues to pile pressure on prices to rise.
These issues have been at the forefront of campaign promises, with Mnangagwa pledging to revive the economy and improve infrastructure development.
“For the first time in our motherland, we are food secure. We have introduced mechanised agricultural programmes for our people. We are also setting up rural industries in every province. We continue to build our country,” Mnangagwa told supporters during his final campaign rally at the weekend.
ZANU PF is wooing young voters, with Mnangagwa — who took over from Mugabe in a military coup in November 2017 — promising to extend economic opportunities to the youth in sectors such as agriculture and mining.
Chamisa, on the other hand, has promised to tackle corruption and resource mismanagement. He promised a change of governance culture to restore Zimbabwe into the family of nations.
As more than 6.6 million Zimbabweans prepare to cast their votes for a president, members of the National Assembly and local government councillors at the 12,374 polling stations dotted across the country, the world watches with bated breath.
Will this election bring about the change that many hope for? Or will it be another chapter in an ongoing saga?
Only time will tell. But one thing is certain – August 23 will be a day of reckoning for Zimbabwe.
JN/APA