Zimbabweans vote in first election since Mugabe's removal

SUMMARY

Zimbabweans go to the polls on Monday in the first election since the removal of Robert Mugabe, a watershed vote they hope will rid the country of its global pariah status and spark a recovery in its failed economy. The election will see 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a long-time Mugabe ally, face 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who is vying to become Zimbabwe's youngest head of state. Polls give former intelligence chief Mnangagwa, who took over as president after the army ousted Mugabe in a bloodless coup last November, only a slim lead over Chamisa. That makes a runoff on Sept. 8 a possibility if no candidate wins more than half of the votes.

By ReutersJul 30, 2018 9:56:46 AM IST (Updated)

Election posters are pictured on the walls of apartments in Mbare township in Harare, Zimbabwe, July 29, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Nelson Chamisa addresses a media conference in Harare, Zimbabwe July 29, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Youths look at posters outside polling stations prepared ahead of general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe, July 29, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

A woman walks past polling stations being prepared ahead of general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe, July 29, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

A woman walks past polling stations being prepared ahead of general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe, July 29, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Church members pray in front of poling stations ahead of general elections, in Mbare township outside the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, July 29, 2018. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko