Factsheet: Zimbabwe women presidential candidates

On July 19, 2023, Elisabeth Valerio who is the leader of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA), became the first female presidential candidate for the August 23, 2023 general elections after winning her nomination case at the High Court. The court approved her bid to contest the poll, ruling that she was not responsible for the bureaucratic delays in the transfer of her nomination fees to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

Meanwhile, the Electoral Court is also scheduled to hear on July 24 an appeal by Linda Masarira against the rejection of her candidacy by ZEC over a dispute over nomination fees. Masarira is the leader of the Labour, Economists and African Democrats (LEAD).

Who contested the 2018 elections?
In 2018, four women candidates contested for the presidential seat. These were:

Joice Mujuru – People’s Rainbow Coalition (PRC)

Thokozani Khupe – Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T)

Melbah Dzapasi – #1980 Freedom Movement Zimbabwe

 

Violet Mariyacha – United Democratic Movement (UDM)

Credit: Zimfact