election tactics

Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa legalises illegal settlements as he targets urban votes

By The Africa Report

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Posted on April 28, 2023 13:59

© A girl goes about her early morning duties pumping water into a bucket at a community borehole next to a polling station where voters are queuing to cast their ballot in Epworth township during by elections held in Zimbabwe, March 26 2022. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP) — A girl goes about her early morning duties pumping water into a bucket at a community borehole next to a polling station where voters are queuing to cast their ballot in Epworth township during by elections held in Zimbabwe, March 26 2022. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP)

Winning urban seats is crucial in Zimbabwe’s forthcoming August elections, as cities have been opposition strongholds since 2000.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa is now doling out title deeds, legal documents that show the chain of ownership for land and property, to settlements that were previously considered illegal. This appears to be an attempt to entice urban voters.

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