Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan has travelled to Zimbabwe ahead of the nation’s general elections slated to hold on Wednesday, Africa Today News, New York reports.
South African country, Zimbabweans would on August 23 head to the polls to select new leaders.
Jonathan, in a post on his verified Facebook page, said he arrived Harare on Saturday ahead of the elections.
The former President said he led other members of the the Joint African Union (AU), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Mission to Zimbabwe in order to observe the polls; stressing that he was looking forward to a fulfilling experience.
Read Also: Zimbabwe Confirms Putin’s Helicopter Gift To President
‘I thank the Zimbabwean Government, the AU and COMESA as well as Ambassador Zachariah Ifu and other officials of Nigerian High Commission, for a warm reception,’ he stated.
Africa Today News, New York reports that no fewer than eleven candidates are vying for the top position.
But the race is largely seen as a rematch between Nelson Chamisa, the 45-year-old opposition leader and the man who defeated him in the 2018 presidential election, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the incumbent president.
Mnangagwa, 80, who took over the reins from Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s first president, after a November 2017 coup, is the leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).
Chamisa has led the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) since it was formed in January 2022 after a split from the Movement for Democratic Change – Alliance, previously the leading opposition party.
The field also includes activist and constitutional law professor Lovemore Madhuku of the National Constituent Assembly.
Douglas Mwonzora, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) withdrew his candidacy on August 8 saying the election is a farce, but the electoral commission has said the ballot papers had already been printed.
Meanwhile, Africa Today News, New York can confirm that a total of 6.5 million people have registered to vote across the 12,340 polling stations in the country’s 10 provinces.