Zimbabwe: general elections scheduled for August 23

General elections in Zimbabwe will take place on August 23,2023, outgoing president Emmerson Mnangagwa announced.

Elected in 2018 following a coup that deposed President Robert Mugabe a year earlier, Emmerson Mnangagwa is currently completing a second term in office.

His main rival, 45-year-old lawyer and pastor Nelson Chamisa, had expressed his impatience, accusing Mnangagwa of maintaining “opacity on the dates” of the elections, which had been expected for several months.

During this waiting period, Chamisa’s party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), continued to accuse the ruling party of repressing political opponents.

“Opposition meetings have been obstructed, and officials, including MPs, arrested on the pretext of illegal assembly”, reports said.