Off the wire
• Turkish president in Cote d'Ivoire, his first stop on African tour  • Urgent: 39 killed in suicide bombings at Iraqi army HQ in Anbar  • Cambodia marks 10th anniversary of troop deployment in war-torn countries  • Urgent: Insider attack kills 4 police in S. Afghanistan  • Spotlight: Money politics in U.S. deepen social divide  • China supports early resumption of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva  • S-400 air defense system to assume combat duty in Western Siberia  • Four former Guangdong officials under graft probe  • Researchers discover monsoon-forecasting abilities in Tibetan plants  • 1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares rally on RRR cut  
You are here: 　 Home

Ex-Zimbabwe VP launches new party to challenge Mugabe in 2018 polls

Xinhua, March 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Former Zimbabwean Vice President Joice Mujuru, once considered a favored successor to president Robert Mugabe, on Tuesday formally launched her new party to challenge the veteran leader in the 2018 elections.

Mujuru, 60, was sacked from the vice presidency and kicked out of the ruling party by Mugabe in 2014 on allegations of trying to overthrow him.

Mujuru said her party, Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) , which also includes former stalwarts from Mugabe's party Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo will work to improve the livelihoods of Zimbabweans through instituting political, economic and social reforms.

She blamed Mugabe for ruining the economy and promised that her party will reform the indigenization law and improve the investment climate to attract foreign investment.

"Zimbabwe People First is a party that will remove the unjust system once and for all through economic, political and social reform," she said.

Mujuru is a former liberation fighter who joined cabinet at independence in 1980 as the youngest member. She held several cabinet posts until her promotion to VP in 2004, a position she held until she was fired by Mugabe in 2014. Enditem