What's different about this Zimbabwe election — and what's not
Voters have a record number of candidates to choose from, and at least a quarter of them are still undecided
Zimbabweans head to historic polls on July 30 amid a fundamental realignment in the country’s politics, particularly the leadership of the major political parties. Zanu-PF’s Robert Mugabe will not feature on the ballot paper for the first time since the country’s independence from Britain in 1980. The towering political figure was the only leader generations of Zimbabweans knew prior to his ouster in a palace coup last November (60% of Zimbabwe’s population is aged 40 and younger, which constitutes a demographic shift in the voters’ profile). Mugabe’s political nemesis, MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, succumbed to colon cancer in February. A record number of 23 presidential candidates — 19 men and four women — have gathered at least 100 signatures from registered voters from across the country’s 10 provinces and paid the $1,000 fee needed to run in the first round of voting. The crowded field is a clear sign of the opening up of the country’s political space, annoyance with the lead...
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