Zimbabwe’s ruling party backs Mugabe, 92, for 2018 election

MASVINGO, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 in February, was endorsed on Saturday as the ruling party’s candidate in a national election scheduled for 2018.

Opposition groups have described such adulation as a sign that Mugabe and his loyalists are out of touch with the desperation of a nation that is suffering massive unemployment, cash shortages and company closures.

Kudzai Chipanga, leader of the party’s youth wing, suggested that Mugabe’s ID and birth certificate should be changed to read “President Robert Mugabe.”

Mugabe, who won the 2013 election that was marred by allegations of voting irregularities, says he wants to live to 100.