Zimbabwe's Ruling Party Backs Mugabe, 92, To Contest For Presidency In 2018 poll

Zimbabwe's ruling party has endorsed 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe as its candidate in a national election scheduled for 2018.

The ZANU-PF party announced the endorsement Saturday at an annual conference in the southeast town of Masvingo. The party's youth wing even proposed that Mugabe should rule for life with broad powers.

In a speech Friday, Mugabe acknowledged that some people within the ruling party wanted him to quit and he warned officials to stop squabbling as a succession battle intensifies.


Mugabe has been in power since the southern African nation's independence from white minority rule in 1980.

A deteriorating economy has increased pressure on Mugabe, who has faced more opposition protests in the past year. From ICE