Zimbabwean
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was expected to visit China in April, said on
Wednesday that his country will hold transparent polls before July, in the
first elections since Robert Mugabe's rule ended after 37 years in power.
"Next month I
will be able to make a proclamation of elections, so I believe that elections
will not be in July, they will be earlier than July," said the 75-year-old
leader of the country's ruling ZANU-PF party at World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland.
Mnangagwa, who was
the first Zimbabwean president to attend the Davos forum, took office in
November and promised to hold a fair vote.
"We want to
have free, fair, credible elections, free of violence," Mnangagwa said,
acknowledging that the people of Zimbabwe should directly elect their country's
leader, Parliament and local governments and he welcomed international
observers and would respect the result if the opposition wins, according to
Reuters.
He said the nation
is "open for business". In recent weeks, Mnangagwa has intensified
outreach to neighboring countries, which he has described as "an important
step in building a new, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe".
During his earlier
visit to Namibia this month, Mnangagwa said a visit to China is planned for
April and set for working out more areas of cooperation. According to his
office, this visit is expected to be an effort to "reengage with the
outside world".
He Wenping, a senior research fellow with the Charhar
Institute and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute
of West Asian and African Studies, said that Mnangagwa is sending
signals to the international community that the country is now "on the
right track".
"From
Mnangagwa's recent visits to African Union countries and to his attending the
Davos forum, it not only signals that Zimbabwe wants to gain recognition from
the world, but also shows the ruling party is ready to participate in the
upcoming election and hope to attract more votes," He said.
Although Mnangagwa
faces huge domestic economic challenges, such as severe cash shortages and
dramatic price increases of food and other household items, He said that his
recent movements, including seeking cooperation with other countries, may help
the African country to regain gradual development.
"China and
Zimbabwe have maintained a long-term friendship that based on two countries'
complementary economics and frequent people-to-people exchange," He said,
adding that she believed no matter which party wins the election, Zimbabwe will
no doubt boost its economy, which a better China-Zimbabwe relationship will
"certainly help".