Zimbabwean foreign affairs and international trade minister Sibusiso Moyo has reportedly sought to assure investors and other stakeholders that Emmerson Mnangagwa will step down as president if he loses the forthcoming elections to an opposition candidate.
According to NewsDay, Moyo said that Mnangagwa was ready to hand over power.
Moyo made the remarks on Monday at London-based think-thank Chatham House Africa, where he spoke about the Zimbabwean government's plan for the renewal of international economic relations with foreign investors and other stakeholders.
"If an opposition candidate is victorious in the elections, President Mnangagwa is prepared to accept [it]. Political contestation must not override national interests. People can come and go, but the state is more important," Moyo was quoted as saying.
Mnangagwa himself has often indicated his willingness to step down if he loses the elections. During his visit to Botswana in February, he assured Zimbabweans in that country that he would not seek to cling to power if he lost the elections.
Zimbabwe was set to go to the polls before the end of July.
"In Zimbabwe when we had our Constitutional vote in 2000, we lost, but we were expected to win. And indeed, if I lose, I will step down, my brother and with grace, because the people would have spoken. The voice of the people is the voice of God," Nehanda Radio quoted Mnangagwa as saying at the time.
— News24