Mugabe Era Winds Down as Ruling Party Backs His Ouster
- Ruling party’s provincial committees want president to retire
- Mnangagwa seen as frontrunner to lead transitional government
Demonstrators hold anti-Mugabe placards and shout slogans during a protest march demanding the resignation of Zimbabwe's president on Nov. 18.
Photographer: -/AFP via Getty Images
Tens of thousands of jubilant Zimbabweans joined rallies on Saturday to celebrate the imminent departure of President Robert Mugabe, the only leader they’ve known since independence in 1980.
Mugabe triggered his own downfall by firing Emmerson Mnangagwa as his vice president last week, a move that prompted the military to intervene and place him under house arrest. On Friday, the ruling party’s 10 provincial committees resolved to oust the 93-year-old president, a decision likely to be ratified at a meeting of its central executive on Sunday. The nation’s parliament is due to reconvene on Tuesday and could impeach him should he remain steadfast in his refusal to resign.