HARARE, July 28 -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa ended his election campaign Saturday and rallied Zimbabweans to vote for the ruling ZANU-PF party in Monday's polls for national growth and prosperity.
Addressing thousands of party supporters at the National Sports Stadium in the capital Harare in his closing campaign rally, Mnagangwa said ZANU-PF was the only political party capable of protecting Zimbabwe's heritage because it is the one that waged the war of liberation that brought independence in 1980.
"On Monday it's the end of a long road for all of us and the beginning of a new journey. We have worked hard over the past few months persuading and engaging people. We have been peaceful, respectful and dignified and what is wanted now is only one push on Monday to vote for ZANU-PF so that we have a thunderous victory in the history of this country," Mnangagwa said.
Mnangagwa replaced former president Robert Mugabe who resigned in November last year after a military intervention which ended his 37 years in power.
Over the past few months, he has been traversing across the country campaigning to drum up support for the ruling party.
He will square off with 22 other presidential candidates in the polls but his main rivalry is Nelson Chamisa, the 40-year-old leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance.
There are 5.6 million people who registered to vote in the first post-Mugabe elections which will be held in the presence of Western observers for the first time in 16 years.
Mnangagwa said once elected, he would steer Zimbabwe's economy into a growth trajectory characterized by modern infrastructure, food and energy self-sufficiency, among others.
He said Zimbabwe's economy was already on a growth path since he assumed office eight months ago owing to his "Zimbabwe is open for business" mantra which has seen the country attracting over 15 billion U.S. dollars in investment commitments.
He said Zimbabwe's GDP was expected to rise from 4.2 percent initially projected to 6 percent by year-end due to favorable policies that have been implemented by his government.