Daily Times

Zimbabweans queued at polling stations on Thursday as general elections stretched into an unprecedented second day, sparked by delays that fuelled opposition accusations of vote-rigging. In dozens of voting stations, voters braved long waits for ballot papers to be delivered, with some lining up all night. The delays forced President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is seeking a second term, to issue a late-night directive extending Wednesday’s vote by another day. Electoral commission spokesman Justin Manyau said voting was still underway in parts of the capital Harare and the eastern province of Manicaland. “It’s happening in selected wards,” he said. The commission’s deputy chairman Rodney Kiwa said election authorities were still collecting information on when all wards would be finished. “We are being very meticulous about this,” he told AFP. The poll is being watched across southern Africa as a test of support for the ZANU-PF party, whose 43-year rule has been battered by a moribund economy and charges of authoritarianism.