<p class="title">Zimbabweans cast their ballots Monday in the country's first election since authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe was ousted last year, with concerns over fraud and the likelihood of a disputed result clouding voting day.</p>.<p>President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former ally in the ruling ZANU-PF party, faces opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) in a historic vote for the southern African nation.</p>.<p>"I just have to do this. I have to see a better Zimbabwe for my kids. Things have been tough," Tawanda Petru, 28, an unemployed man voting in Mbare, a low-income district of the capital Harare, told AFP as polling stations opened across the country.</p>.<p>Mugabe, 94, who was ousted by the military in November, made a surprise intervention on the eve of the elections, calling for voters to throw ZANU-PF out of office.</p>.<p>Zimbabwe's generals shocked the world last year when they seized control and ushered Mnangagwa to power after Mugabe allegedly tried to position his wife Grace to be his successor.</p>.<p>Mnangagwa, 75, who promises a fresh start for the country despite being from the ZANU-PF elite, is the front-runner with the advantage of covert military support, a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls government resources.</p>.<p>But Chamisa, 40, who has performed strongly on the campaign trail, hopes to tap into a young population that could vote for change.</p>.<p>The election is Zimbabwe's first without Mugabe, who led ZANU-PF to power in a vote when the country became independent from Britain in 1980 and ruled for 37 years.</p>.<p>Speaking at his mansion in Harare on Sunday, Mugabe said he hoped the election would "thrust away the military form of government."</p>.<p>"I cannot vote for those who tormented me," Mugabe said, hinting he could vote for MDC.</p>.<p>As Zimbabwe's hectic politics reached fever pitch, Mnangagwa claimed Mugabe's remarks proved that Chamisa was in an alliance with Mugabe.</p>.<p>But Chamisa also spoke out saying: "I have nothing to do with what president Mugabe would want to say as a voter. He is a citizen."</p>.<p>Elections under Mugabe were marred by fraud and often deadly violence, and this year's campaign has been dogged by accusations the result will be rigged.</p>.<p>The MDC has raised repeated allegations of a flawed electoral roll, ballot paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and free food handed out by the ruling party.</p>.<p>But campaigning has been relatively unrestricted and peaceful.</p>.<p>"After years of stasis, the events of November 2017 gave Zimbabwe the chance to dream again," Mnangagwa said Sunday in an address on state radio.</p>.<p>"As we have always said, the elections will be free, non-violent and credible."</p>.<p>A recent Afrobarometer survey of 2,400 people put Mnangagwa on 40 percent and Chamisa on 37 percent, with 20 percent undecided.</p>.<p>Mnangagwa, who is accused of involvement in election violence and fraud under Mugabe, invited international observers -- including the previously-banned European Union team -- to the poll.</p>.<p>The EU team will deliver a preliminary report later in the week.</p>.<p>The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of alleged intimidation and threats of violence in the run-up to polling day, but said it was encouraging to see open rallies and peaceful demonstrations.</p>.<p>The next government must tackle mass unemployment and an economy shattered by the Mugabe-backed seizure of white-owned farms, the collapse of agriculture, hyperinflation and an investment exodus.</p>.<p>Previously solid health and education services are in ruins and millions have fled abroad to seek work.</p>.<p>Life expectancy has only just recovered to its 1985 level of 61 years.</p>.<p>"The governing ZANU-PF party needs to maintain a semblance of free and fair elections in order to attract fresh foreign investment," said the London-based EXX Africa business risk consultancy.</p>.<p>"However, there remain serious concerns over vote credibility."</p>.<p>With 5.6 million registered voters, the results of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections are due by August 4.</p>.<p>A run-off vote is scheduled for September 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50 percent in the first round.</p>.<p>"I'm excited, I'm voting for the first time," said Tawanda Mudondo, 18, who sells phone chargers on the street corner.</p>.<p>"I just want a government that will create jobs. I passed my exams but could not go to university. Our economy is trashed."</p>
<p class="title">Zimbabweans cast their ballots Monday in the country's first election since authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe was ousted last year, with concerns over fraud and the likelihood of a disputed result clouding voting day.</p>.<p>President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former ally in the ruling ZANU-PF party, faces opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) in a historic vote for the southern African nation.</p>.<p>"I just have to do this. I have to see a better Zimbabwe for my kids. Things have been tough," Tawanda Petru, 28, an unemployed man voting in Mbare, a low-income district of the capital Harare, told AFP as polling stations opened across the country.</p>.<p>Mugabe, 94, who was ousted by the military in November, made a surprise intervention on the eve of the elections, calling for voters to throw ZANU-PF out of office.</p>.<p>Zimbabwe's generals shocked the world last year when they seized control and ushered Mnangagwa to power after Mugabe allegedly tried to position his wife Grace to be his successor.</p>.<p>Mnangagwa, 75, who promises a fresh start for the country despite being from the ZANU-PF elite, is the front-runner with the advantage of covert military support, a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls government resources.</p>.<p>But Chamisa, 40, who has performed strongly on the campaign trail, hopes to tap into a young population that could vote for change.</p>.<p>The election is Zimbabwe's first without Mugabe, who led ZANU-PF to power in a vote when the country became independent from Britain in 1980 and ruled for 37 years.</p>.<p>Speaking at his mansion in Harare on Sunday, Mugabe said he hoped the election would "thrust away the military form of government."</p>.<p>"I cannot vote for those who tormented me," Mugabe said, hinting he could vote for MDC.</p>.<p>As Zimbabwe's hectic politics reached fever pitch, Mnangagwa claimed Mugabe's remarks proved that Chamisa was in an alliance with Mugabe.</p>.<p>But Chamisa also spoke out saying: "I have nothing to do with what president Mugabe would want to say as a voter. He is a citizen."</p>.<p>Elections under Mugabe were marred by fraud and often deadly violence, and this year's campaign has been dogged by accusations the result will be rigged.</p>.<p>The MDC has raised repeated allegations of a flawed electoral roll, ballot paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and free food handed out by the ruling party.</p>.<p>But campaigning has been relatively unrestricted and peaceful.</p>.<p>"After years of stasis, the events of November 2017 gave Zimbabwe the chance to dream again," Mnangagwa said Sunday in an address on state radio.</p>.<p>"As we have always said, the elections will be free, non-violent and credible."</p>.<p>A recent Afrobarometer survey of 2,400 people put Mnangagwa on 40 percent and Chamisa on 37 percent, with 20 percent undecided.</p>.<p>Mnangagwa, who is accused of involvement in election violence and fraud under Mugabe, invited international observers -- including the previously-banned European Union team -- to the poll.</p>.<p>The EU team will deliver a preliminary report later in the week.</p>.<p>The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of alleged intimidation and threats of violence in the run-up to polling day, but said it was encouraging to see open rallies and peaceful demonstrations.</p>.<p>The next government must tackle mass unemployment and an economy shattered by the Mugabe-backed seizure of white-owned farms, the collapse of agriculture, hyperinflation and an investment exodus.</p>.<p>Previously solid health and education services are in ruins and millions have fled abroad to seek work.</p>.<p>Life expectancy has only just recovered to its 1985 level of 61 years.</p>.<p>"The governing ZANU-PF party needs to maintain a semblance of free and fair elections in order to attract fresh foreign investment," said the London-based EXX Africa business risk consultancy.</p>.<p>"However, there remain serious concerns over vote credibility."</p>.<p>With 5.6 million registered voters, the results of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections are due by August 4.</p>.<p>A run-off vote is scheduled for September 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50 percent in the first round.</p>.<p>"I'm excited, I'm voting for the first time," said Tawanda Mudondo, 18, who sells phone chargers on the street corner.</p>.<p>"I just want a government that will create jobs. I passed my exams but could not go to university. Our economy is trashed."</p>