HARARE: Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe on Friday challenged her president husband Robert to name his preferred successor to end deepening divisions over the future leadership of the ruling ZANU-PF party, state television said in an online report.
Africa's oldest leader, Mugabe, 93, has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980 but has insisted that ZANU-PF, and not him, will choose his eventual successor when the time comes.
But at a meeting of ZANU-PF's women's wing in the capital Harare, Grace Mugabe contradicted the veteran leader, who also attended the meeting, saying he should name a successor.
"The First Lady and Zanu PF Secretary for Women's Affairs has challenged the President to name his successor saying this has been the trend in other countries," ZBC said online.
"The First Lady said there is nothing wrong with Mugabe naming his successor, saying the move will enable all members to rally behind one candidate."
Mugabe did not speak at the meeting.
Fighting over leadership of a post-Mugabe ZANU-PF has intensified in the last three years, with two distinct camps emerging, one supporting Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the other rooting for Grace Mugabe.
Mugabe is ZANU-PF's presidential candidate for the 2018 election, his last under the constitution. He will be 99 years if he wins and completes the five-year term.
Elections are due after July 21 next year, according to the constitution, but political analysts say Mugabe could call for an early vote, citing his frail health, and that he may want to take advantage of divisions within opposition ranks.
An early election would require parliament to vote to dissolve itself, which is highly possible given ZANU-PF's commanding majority in parliament.
Zimbabwe has since independence always held elections in March, with the exception of 2000 and 2013, both years when elections were delayed by a constitutional referendum.
Africa's oldest leader, Mugabe, 93, has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980 but has insisted that ZANU-PF, and not him, will choose his eventual successor when the time comes.
But at a meeting of ZANU-PF's women's wing in the capital Harare, Grace Mugabe contradicted the veteran leader, who also attended the meeting, saying he should name a successor.
"The First Lady said there is nothing wrong with Mugabe naming his successor, saying the move will enable all members to rally behind one candidate."
Advertisement
Fighting over leadership of a post-Mugabe ZANU-PF has intensified in the last three years, with two distinct camps emerging, one supporting Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the other rooting for Grace Mugabe.
Advertisement
Elections are due after July 21 next year, according to the constitution, but political analysts say Mugabe could call for an early vote, citing his frail health, and that he may want to take advantage of divisions within opposition ranks.
Advertisement
Zimbabwe has since independence always held elections in March, with the exception of 2000 and 2013, both years when elections were delayed by a constitutional referendum.
© Thomson Reuters 2017
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Watch: Rinku Singh's Hilarious Dressing Room Antics After Being Given 'Fielder Of The Series' Award For 'Captain' Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma Is The Role Model. Here's Why Shubman Gill's Bold 'Captaincy Pitch' For Gautam Gambhir, BCCI After Zimbabwe Series Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests Joe Biden Is The Best Person To Take On Trump, Says His Campaign Wife Among Two Jailed For Life For Man's Murder In Gurugram: Cops 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.