Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa says to hold elections in four to five months

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is quoted in the state-owned Herald Newspaper as saying the country will hold elections in the next four to five months.
 
It will be the first vote since independence in 1980 that former President Robert Mugabe will not participate in.

President Mnangagwa, who had served as Mr Mugabe’s deputy, replaced the longtime leader as head of the governing Zanu-PF. 

Since independence, Zimbabwean elections have been marred by vote rigging, intimidation and violent suppression of the opposition. 

According to the constitution, Zimbabwe "should hold elections between 22 July and 22 August but parliament can elect to dissolve itself, triggering an early vote".
 
The governing Zanu-PF party currently has a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Analysts say the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, has been weakened and divided by the ill health of its leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is receiving treatment for colon cancer.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS
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