HARARE, Zimbabwe, July 29, 2018 (AP) — Zimbabwe votes Monday in an election that could, if deemed credible, tilt the country towards recovery after years of economic collapse and repression under former leader Robert Mugabe. If it is flawed and disputed, as some predict, the southern African nation could slide deeper into upheaval. There is another, muddier possibility: an imperfect election that is ultimately tolerated by many Zimbabweans and foreign governments preferring a measure of stability. The contest pits President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe's successor and former enforcer who now says he represents change, against Nelson Chamisa , the 40-year-old leader of an opposition targeted by violence and intimidation in the past. "Whoever loses should accept defeat, the country needs to move on," said Tapiwa Bhera, who stood in what has become a despairing symbol of Zimbabwe — a long line at a bank in the capital, Harare, in search of cash. Others waiting disagreed. "What's wrong with asking for fairness? We are not moving if the wrong person is in office," Agatha Mangena said, echoing the opposition's vow to hold peaceful protests if Monday's vote is thought to be flawed. Some banks have started dispensing cash for the first time in months, a welcome turn in a country with hollowed-out industries and rampant unemployment. The hope is that a successful election, whatever the outcome, will lead to foreign investment and the lifting of international sanctions. "Zimbabwe is open for business," Mnangagwa said once again in his final campaign rally on Saturday. Past elections under Mugabe were marred by violence and irregularities that benefited the ruling ZANU-PF party. Under Mnangagwa, however, Western election monitors are back in Zimbabwe for the first time in years and the opposition campaigned largely without police interference. A record of more than 20 presidential candidates and nearly 130 political parties will participate in the election, vying for Zimbabwe's 5.7 million registered voters. If no presidential candidate wins 50 per cent of the vote, a runoff will be held Sept. 8. Despite the country's new freedoms, Chamisa predicts that the election will be flawed because of the electoral commission's alleged bias and problems with ballot papers and the voters' roll. He told The Associated Press in an interview on Friday that he will lead peaceful protests if the vote is manipulated in favour of the ruling party. "The abuse that people have been subjected to should not continue to be tolerated because then that would be, by interpretation, cowardice," said Chamisa, who has drawn large crowds with his fiery speeches that draw on his work as a pastor and lawyer. Some Zimbabweans wonder whether the ruling establishment and the military left by Mugabe can accept an opposition victory that might damage its interests or expose it to prosecution.
