Zimbabwe: Opposition vows to track and monitor as vote count begins

A spokesperson for the Zimbabwean opposition party Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) advised gathered media in Harare that his party was performing well in the current elections.

"The information we have is that we are leading on the presidential election, comfortably and we are doing well on the parliamentary elections," Promise Mukwanazi said.

“We expect this trend to continue because the people of Zimbabwe have decided that they want change.”

The country entered a second day of voting on Thursday after major delays due to shortages in ballot papers, which led to thousands of Zimbabwean not being able to cast their votes on the official election day on Wednesday.

Many Zimbabweans registered to vote at the affected polling stations spent the previous night camping outside until the issue was resolved.

“We still did not know who printed them, where they were printed and how many were printed," Mukwanazi said.

"The question that begs answers is how did we have the level of shortage that we witnessed," he added.

Polls are expected to close by the 7pm local time where attention will turn to vote counting with results expected to be announced on 1 September 2023.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 80 of the ruling ZANU- PF, is seeking a second five year term. His first term was won from a disputed election in 2018 against main challenger Nelson Chamisa, 45, of the CCC who is contesting against him this time.