Mnangagwa winces over 'briefcase' parties

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has questioned the authenticity of the bulk of new political parties that have mushroomed in the past few months, saying he would soon order an investigation to find if they were genuine.

Addressing journalists soon after his closed-door meeting with South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa in Harare on Saturday, Mnangagwa said he could not believe reports that 112 political parties had registered with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to contest this year's polls.

"I have already invited all political parties in Zimbabwe to a roundtable, where we all commit ourselves to non-violence. We were supposed to hold this meeting on March 8, when I thought I was dealing with about eight parties. I was shocked to learn that we have more than 112 parties. So I am investigating whether, indeed, we have this number of political parties and then come up with a proper programme for the engagement," he said.

"As a nation, party and government, we are looking forward to very peaceful, transparent and harmonised elections in July this year."