Follow us on:   

Millions vote in Zimbabwe’s presidential poll
July 31, 2013, 3:23 pm

Mugabe, right, has been president for 33 years [Xinhua]

Mugabe, right, has been president for 33 years [Xinhua]

Braving cold weather amid concerns of vote-rigging, millions of Zimbabweans cast their ballots Wednesday in a crucial presidential election which could bring an end to Robert Mugabe’s 33-year run of the country.

His rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 61, is the former opposition leader who joined Mugabe, 89,  in an often tense coalition after regional leaders devised the power-sharing scheme to end violence following elections in 2008.

While some in Tsvangirai’s camp have suspected vote-rigging and voter intimidation, African Union (AU) Head of the 60-member Observer Mission Olusegun Obasanjo said he had seen nothing so far to discredit the polls.

“There is nothing so far to worry about. We have received reports from observers in the field and they are minor incidents. I do not see anything serious enough to doubt the credibility of the election outcome if it continues like this for now,” Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president, told reporters after visiting a polling station in Harare’s Warren Park Constituency.

There are 9,000 polling stations in Zimbabwe.

Both candidates say they expect to win the election. However, if neither wins 50 per cent plus one, a run-off will be held on September 11.

Source: Agencies