Election officials extended the voting in Zimbabwe’s presidential election until Thursday, after delays of up to 10 hours in mostly opposition strongholds.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is seeking a second and final term in a country with a history of violent and disputed elections.
Chaotic scenes characterised some polling stations in Zimbabwe as ballot papers that had been delivered up to 10 hours late ran out, forcing officials to suspend voting on Wednesday in many stations, especially in large urban areas including the capital Harare.
At the Haig Park Primary School polling station in Harare, people shoved and shouted at election officials and police after they were told to return on Thursday because ballot papers for local council elections had run out.
“We are not going anywhere, we will sleep here,” people who had waited since early morning shouted in chorus.
Some stations had not received ballot papers by 7pm when voting was scheduled to close.
“I waited five years to vote, and these hours won’t kill me,” said Cathrine Nyakudanga, who carried her six-month-old baby on her back.
She arrived at 7am only for ballot papers to arrive more than nine hours later.
“It pained me to see the elderly and women spending such long hours without food or water. That’s not safe,” said Stanley Gwanzura, a popular local gospel singer. Others waiting in line lit fires to grill meat for dinner.
This is the second general election since the ousting of longtime ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017.
Twelve presidential candidates are on the ballot, but the main contest is expected to be between 80-year-old Mnangagwa, known as “the crocodile”, and 45-year-old opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.
Mnangagwa narrowly beat Chamisa in a disputed election in 2018.
Chamisa hopes to break the ruling Zanu-PF party’s 43-year hold on power. Zimbabwe has had only two leaders since gaining independence from white minority rule in 1980.
A runoff election will be held on October 2 if no candidate wins a clear majority in the first round.
The election also determines the makeup of the 350-seat parliament and nearly 2,000 local council positions.
