The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is expected to use a conference of the ruling ZANU-PF party on Friday to consolidate his grip on power after Robert Mugabe’s shock ouster last month.
Mnangagwa took office after the military forced Mugabe to resign, ending a 37-year reign marked by brutal repression and economic collapse.
The new president will address a one-day extraordinary congress in Harare, where he will be confirmed as the party’s presidential candidate in next year’s general elections.
The military stepped in to clear Mnangagwa’s route to the presidency after a long-running struggle with supporters of Mugabe’s wife Grace, who had emerged as Mugabe’s chosen successor.
“The purpose is to consolidate President Mnangagwa’s position within the party and to ensure that (Grace’s supporters) are put firmly in their place,” lawyer and opposition politician David Coltart told AFP.
“Many people see this administration as a thin veneer over a military junta and the question is whether the veneer is going to get thinner.”
Mnangagwa, 75, has appointed military officials to key government positions, and has pledged to revive the shattered economy by boosting farm production and luring foreign investment.
He is expected to soon appoint his two deputy presidents, but party spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo said this key announcement may not be made on Friday.
“The president will use his discretion whether to appoint his deputies at the congress or not,” Moyo told AFP.
“We have a new dispensation and naturally the main item on the agenda is that new president is going to be endorsed as president of the party and as our presidential candidate for the 2018 elections.”
The nationwide ballot, which will vote in both the president and lawmakers, is expected to take place before August.
ZANU-PF has been riven by division for years over Mugabe’s succession. The 93-year-old leader had been widely expected to rule until his death.
