Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, aged 93 years, will be running for the country’s top seat in the next general elections. Mugabe has been in power from 1980.
Mugabe on Friday begun a series of rallies across the country in a bid to win the support of young people ahead of elections next year.
A huge crowd gathered for Friday’s rally in a stadium at Marondera, a small town east of the capital, Harare, the state-run Herald newspaper reports.
The president is said to be planning nine other similar rallies this year
At the rally, he told those who are vying to succeed him to “be at peace”.
He added: “The time will come, it’s certainly coming”.
The country has a youthful population with more than 70% under 35, according to the last census.