Police search for motive after 49 hurt in Zimbabwe election blast

Police officers are seen at the White City Stadium, where Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa escaped unhurt after an explosion rocked the stadium, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, June 23,2018. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

HARARE (Reuters) - Police said on Sunday they were searching for a motive for an explosion at Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's election rally that injured 49 people.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, the general who led a de facto coup that forced long-time leader Robert Mugabe to resign in November, described Saturday's blast as a "terrorist act" that would not stop the July 30 presidential, parliamentary and local elections, Zimbabwe's first post-Mugabe vote.