Zimbabwe to hold general election on August 23rd

Zimbabweans wait in a queue to cast their vote during a referendum in Harare, Zimbabwe, Saturday, March, 16, 2013   -  
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Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Zimbabwe will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on August  23rd, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Wednesday, as the southern African country continues to battle a raging economic crisis .

Mnangagwa , elected president in 2018 , will be seeking a second term in office. His election followed a military coup that deposed Robert Mugabe in 2017.

The 80-year-old's main rival is lawyer and pastor is 45-year old  Nelson Chamisa  who leads the newly formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

The opposition accuses the party in power, Zanu-PF , of repression against political opponents.

On Tuesday, Chamisa accused President Mnangagwa of being vague about the dates of the election.

The Zanu-PF party has been in power in Zimbabwe since the country's independence in 1980 .

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