Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe Friday dissolved his cabinet ahead of weekend general elections in which his party is fighting for political survival after 28 uninterrupted years in power.
The country goes to the polls Saturday, with the veteran politician and his ruling ZANU-PF party, for the first time, facing possible defeat.
But Mugabe, 84, sounded confident of victory, saying he would soon be appointing a new cabinet.
“I have dissolved the cabinet but I told the ministers that we will be back and some of you will get your jobs back,” he said.
He is being fiercely challenged by two opposition candidates, including a former finance minister, who has richly capitalised on the economic crisis that has enveloped the country for almost a decade.
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, denied mismanaging the economy, and instead blamed western sanctions imposed on the country in 2000 over its controversial land reforms.
The economic crisis is characterised by inflation of over 100 000 percent, and 80 percent joblessness. Panapress.
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