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Zimbabwe party backs ex-minister Mugabe rival predicts big victory
(about 1 hour later)
One of Zimbabwe's two main opposition factions has backed former Finance Minister Simba Makoni for the 29 March presidential elections. Zimbabwe's former Finance Minister, Simba Makoni, says he is confident of beating President Robert Mugabe in next month's election.
Faction leader Arthur Mutambara endorsed Simba Makoni, saying he had "shown courage, by standing up to" President Robert Mugabe. "We will have a landslide victory in this presidential election," he said.
Mr Mugabe is seeking re-election, while veteran opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai also filed his papers. Speaking to the BBC on the day he officially put forward his candidature, Mr Makoni said that he would offer the people "renewal and regeneration".
A BBC correspondent says the news will boost Mr Makoni's campaign. In recent years, under President Mugabe, Zimbabwe has undergone an economic collapse.
Political parties must submit their lists of candidates for March's presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of Friday. Inflation is now running at more than 60,000%.
Economy Mr Makoni was sounding confident, but his promise of a landslide victory looks overly optimistic.
Mr Mutambara and his supporters are backing Mr Makoni's presidential challenge, but the MDC Mutambara grouping will field their own candidates in the parliamentary, senate and local elections. We're dealing in grand visions and the broad platform Simba Makoni
We're very confident of victory, 99.9% confident Zanu-PF's Emmerson Mnangagwa Mr Makoni was expelled by the ruling Zanu-PF party after he announced his candidacy last week. President Mugabe controls all the state resources and much of the media, and he has vast electoral experience in his favour.
At his manifesto launch he described Zimbabwe as a "a sad nation, full of fear... a polarised nation in deep stress, and one characterised by disease and extreme poverty". Mr Makoni is also up against Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change.
He said that defined the work to be done and he would start a process of reconciliation. So the opposition vote is split.
Earlier this week, Mr Tsvangirai confirmed his faction would contest in the polls, despite an "uneven playing field". Having said this, there is no doubt that Mr Makoni's entry into the presidential race has aroused great interest in Zimbabwe.
The MDC had been calling for a new constitution before the elections. The number of people registering to vote shot up last month when he announced he was going to run.
Previous polls have been characterised by violence and allegations of fraud. He enjoys considerable support within the ruling Zanu-PF party and now has the backing of a large breakaway faction of the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Arthur Mutambara.
Mr Tsvangirai also welcomed Mr Makoni to the opposition ranks, but pointed out that the former finance minister had been a member of Zanu-PF's politburo while the Zimbabwean economy had been destroyed. 'National mobilisation'
The country has the world's highest inflation rate - 66,000% - and only an estimated one adult in five has a job. Mr Makoni was short on the specifics of how he would deal with unemployment of close to 80% and chronic inflation if he were to become president.
Mr Mugabe, who turns 84 next week, is seeking a sixth term in office and told state media this week he is "raring to go" in the polls. "At this point I am not going to discuss micro issues. We're dealing in grand visions and the broad platform," he told BBC World Service radio's Newshour programme.
"We're very confident of victory, 99.9% confident," Emmerson Mnangagwa, the rural affairs minister, is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying after filing Mr Mugabe's papers. In general terms though he acknowledged that the country's problems would require what he called "total national mobilisation".
The BBC's Peter Biles says Mr Mugabe is certain to secure votes in many rural areas. "There are many Zimbabweans who share the vision, the views, the proposition that I'm offering," he said.
Mr Tsvangirai has support in urban centres and Mr Makoni's backing is - as yet - untested, he says. Mr Makoni said that, should he become president, there would still be space for Mr Mugabe to get on with his life without fear or worry.
That would disappoint many Zimbabweans, who want him to face charges of corruption and human rights abuses, which they say he has committed during his more than two decades in office.