After announcing earlier this week that elections will be held in four to five months, the new president invited international observers to Zimbabwe for the vote. “We want fair, free, credible elections,” he told British business newspaper the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday. Zimbabwe shunned international observers during Mugabe’s 37-year rule, during which elections were marred by vote-rigging and violent suppression of the opposition. The UK was an outspoken critic of Mugabe’s leadership, but Mnangagwa predicted closer ties when Britain leaves the European Union next year. The Zimbabwean president also said he would be open to seeking to rejoin the Commonwealth, a grouping of nations largely formerly ruled by Britain.

Source: The Guardian January 19, 2018 09:56 UTC