Zimbabweans vote but hopes of ending economic freefall appear dim

A man walks past election campaign posters in Macheke, Zimbabwe, August 22,2023.REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans vote on Wednesday with many citizens desperate for change after two decades of relentless economic chaos but sceptical that the ruling ZANU-PF party will allow a credible election or any loosening of its stranglehold on power.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is seeking re-election after a first term during which runaway inflation, currency shortages and sky-high unemployment continued to make life a misery for Zimbabweans, many of whom rely on U.S. dollar remittances from relatives abroad to make ends meet.