Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) ruling party confirmed incumbent president Robert Mugabe as its candidate for 2018 presidential elections, media reported.
At the party conference on Saturday Zanu-PF’s youth wing called for Mugabe to be declared president for life, BBC broadcaster reported.
Mugabe came into power in 1980, first as prime minister and then as the country’s president. Opposition considers Mugabe and his party as a major hindrances to the country’s progress, particularly in economy, following the seizing of white-owned farming land in 2000 and a consequent hyperinflation that has almost destroyed local economy. The economic crisis eased following Harare’s move to abandon the country’s currency for multiple foreign currencies including the US dollar, euros and British pounds.
Country’s capital Harare has become a scene of massive anti-Mugabe protests in August.
