Robert Mugabe may have disappeared from public view, but his ghost still lingers on a vote that threatens to be one of the closest to the country's history
Rarely seen in public since, he spends his time between Singapore, where he receives medical treatment, and his luxurious 25-room Blue House residence in the national capital of Harare.
Grace's observations, nicknamed "Gucci Grace" for her love of a lavish lifestyle, have become very rare
This result could have been different had Mugabe had her way. Instead, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man Mugabe sacked a few weeks before his resignation while he was trying to have his wife named as his successor, now heads the country and the Zanu-PF party.
"Mugabe himself was not visible, he did not talk much about this election", Dewa Mavhinga, director of Southern Africa of Human Rights Watch told CNN:
to him in Zanu-PF, so this would be a factor – and this factor could actually reduce the levels of support enjoyed by the presidential candidate for Zanu-PF. "
This candidate is the current president, Mnangagwa, who tried to give a new image to the ruling party, Zanu-PF, who has already survived an attempt in his life in anticipation of this election when A grenade was thrown on the scene at a campaign rally last month.
The 75-year-old man is still considered Mugabe's man with him during more than 40 years, first as special badistant during the 1977 liberation war, then as minister of security and minister of justice
Mnangagwa is committed to healing divisions and rebuilding the country. "Some have eyes but they do not see, others have ears but can not hear that we are in a new Zimbabwe," he said at a rally of Zanu-PF last week. "Together we will rebuild our nation, a prosperous new Zimbabwe for our people e. "
" Smokescreen & # 39;
The legitimacy of this election has already become a hot topic, the first with a semblance of a contest since the country's independence in 1980.
Last week, the spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights raised concerns about Voter intimidation and threats of violence before Monday's vote. 19659002] While UNHCR spokeswoman Liz Throssell also noted the presence of election observers for the first time and said that the presence of human rights groups was a sign welcome, there remains some skepticism. the European Union and the African Union sit on bleachers as opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa addresses a campaign rally in Bulawayo "data-src-mini =" //cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/180725101648-02-zimbabwe-election-observation-0721-small-169.jpg "data-src-xsmall =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam /badets/180725101648-02-zimbabwe-election-observation-0721-medium-plus-169.jpg "data-src-small =" http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/180725101648-02- zimbabwe-election-observation-0721-large-169.jpg "data-src-medium =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/180725101648-02-zimbabwe-election-observation-0721-exlarge-169 .jpg "data-src-large =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/180725101648-02-zimbabwe-election-observation-0721-super-169.jpg "data-src-full16x9 =" / /cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/180725101648-02-zimbabwe-election-observation-0721-full-169.jpg "data-src-mini1x1 =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/ badets / 180725101648-02-zimbabwe-election-observation-072 1-small-11.jpg "data-demand-load =" not-loaded "data-eq-pts =" mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781 "src =" data : image / gif; base64, R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP /////// wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI + py + 0Po5yUFQA7 "/>
"It's like a smokescreen," says Mavhinga about the current electoral setup
"I think it's a good simulation game that could soon be dismissed
"People are pretty free, I'm talking to you about a hotel that I put on my Human Rights Watch T-shirt, I talk freely about what's going on and no one is "It's not because they're not watching it, it's just that the machine has been put on hold." But if an order is given then things could change very quickly. "
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission hopes that any allegation of voter fraud will be prevented by the introduction of a fingerprint identification system designed to prevent citizens from registering more The election observers were also allowed to observe the preparations for the campaign and will be present the same day
Economics
The election should be a close affair between Mnangagwa and the Movement for Leader of Democratic Change (MDC) Nelson Chamisa, 40, is the youngest presidential candidate
Chamisa took over the leadership of the MDC following the death of its founder and political heavyweight Morgan Tsvangirai, died of cancer in February
Chamisa hopes to target young voters with promises of electoral reform, tax cuts and jobs. "People connect with young leaders," Chamisa told Agence France Presse
"Young people take things in their own hands, look at France, look at Canada … look at the United States" , he said. his message may have an echo, he does not have the same level of support from the security forces or the military who oversaw Mugabe's departure.
If no candidate obtains more than 50% of the votes on July 30, there will be a
The two men face a great challenge to help the country recover from the dire economic situation that was inflicted upon him by Mugabe's rule.
A chaotic agrarian reform program coupled with hyperinflation that saw the first billion of the planet Later, under a government of national unity including Tsvangirai in as Prime Minister, the country was forced to abandon its currency and adopt the US dollar.
The relics of the notorious economic collapse of Zimbabwe. the streets of Harare – tattered banknotes, sellers selling junk food, doors after doors of locked and closed abandoned factories.
Progress has been made with regard to the opening of credit lines between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, a longtime opponent of the Mugabe regime, while the European Union is making encouraging noises on the new diet. Poverty "
For many Zimbabweans, the lack of economic progress is evident in everyday life, a constant reminder of life under Mugabe.
"I have not seen many changes since November, to be" Pearson Mvurume, a 33-year-old cattle rancher in Mutare, in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, told CNN: "Even so far, nothing has changed.Come, it's the truth."
Mvurume says it's Malice will vote for Chamisa in the upcoming elections, saying it was "the only chance for change".
"Look at the poverty around you, they are not real jobs," he says
. to real jobs that will come. Look what I do, keeping the cattle. This is not a job. "
Tafadzwa Chapambare, who also lives in Mutare, told CNN that he had never had a job despite his 28th birthday.
" They say that if you do not have any … Do not go to school, there would be Champambare asked.
"We just want companies to reopen so we can all get a job. We all registered to vote and all we want are jobs in Zimbabwe. And once we vote, we want to see changes – that's all we want in this country.
Lucretia Tamara Marinda contributed to this report.
