Zimbabwe's opposition hopes election will break ruling party stranglehold

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa adresses supporters at a rally on the outskirts of Harare on 26 July 2023. AP - Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

Zimbabwe goes to the polls this week for an election many hope could end the country's lengthy economic crisis, but those expectations are tempered by concerns that the contest is skewed in favour of a party that has been in power for more than four decades.

Mineral-rich Zimbabwe was once considered one of Africa's most prosperous economies, but it has been in economic turmoil since 2000 when former leader Robert Mugabe led the violent seizure of white-owned farms to resettle landless black Zimbabweans.