Zimbabwe: More of the same?
Will opposition parties thrash out a coalition to take on Robert Mugabe during the 2018 elections?
In the absence of a united opposition, President Robert Mugabe — who will be 94 years old when the 2018 polls take place in Zimbabwe — is tipped to retain control of the country for another five-year term. Mugabe has been in power since independence in April 1980 and his probable win would be aided in part by the tight control he still wields over the state apparatus and the refusal by his ruling Zanu-PF to implement election reforms — as stipulated by a new constitution — which, if followed, would level the political playing field. Zanu-PF is deeply divided over the issue of Mugabe’s successor, but this has not stopped it from naming him as the sole candidate for the polls at its party conference in December. The deep divisions among the opposition’s ranks over whether to enter into a coalition arrangement may alter what happens next. “I don’t see a coalition taking place, as the main contenders for the presidency both see themselves as viable candidates,” says Ibbo Mandaza, direct...
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