HARARE – The government has declared Wednesday, August 23 as a national public holiday to pave way for the country’s harmonised elections.
Wednesday will see Zimbabweans troop to different polling stations throughout the country to elect their new leaders.
The three-tier poll will see locals vote to elect the president, members of parliament and councillors.
Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Kazembe Kazembe, in a government notice, gazetted on Monday said; “It is hereby notified that the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, in terms of section 38 (2) of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13), has declared that the 23rd of August, 2023, shall be a public holiday for the purposes of polling for the 2023 harmonised elections.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be seeking a second term in office and is set to face other candidates who include fierce challenger, Nelson Chamisa of Citizens Coalition for Change.
The poll is being held against the backdrop of currency hitches that have seen the local unit crumble against the US dollar.
High level corruption within government corridors and in corporates remains at the centre of citizen concerns amid sentiments the Zanu PF led authority was not keen on stamping out the vice.
Zimbabwe also heads for its poll with a great majority forced to eke out a living through vending while a significant portion of the population continues to leave the country in search of greener pastures abroad.
Mnangagwa is confident he has the solution to the challenges but opponents say he does not deserve another term as he has failed the nation through ruinous policies.
Civil society organisations have also lamented the chaotic nature of the electoral process in the country which has been marred by violence, threats, intimidation and arrest of opposition party members.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has also been accused by the opposition of gerrymandering and refusing to avail the voter’s roll in order to facilitate vote rigging in favour of ruling party Zanu PF.
