Zimbabwe’s president tells supporters they will go to heaven if they vote for his party this month

By FARAI MUTSAKA
Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s president has urged thousands of his supporters at a rally to deliver a “thunderous victory” in this month’s national election and proclaimed that “no one will stop us from ruling this country.” Emmerson Mnangagwa also said on Wednesday that people who vote for his ruling ZANU-PF party would go to heaven. The 80-year-old leader who assumed power in the southern African nation in a coup in 2017 also warned his supporters against engaging in violence in the buildup to the Aug. 23 vote. That plea came days after an opposition party supporter was killed, allegedly at the hands of ruling party activists, in the first deadly violence of the election buildup.