President Mugabe plan to run for the seventh term

In Zimbabwe, national development is being sacrificed at the altar of political feuding.  The succession question is the mother of all problems bedeviling the people and it will continue to haunt the people until it’s resolved. The question about the next successor of President Mugabe is still pending. Since Zimbabwe's independence, most of the world has moved on - but Mugabe’s outlook remains the same. Although we can only guess, no one can state clearly Mugabe’s motive in the upcoming election. 

 He’s ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist for 35 years & has injected new urgency into factional battles led by the elite within his ruling ZANU-PF party. But things are changing, he’s aging -has stumbled twice in recent public appearances, and in September read a speech to parliament apparently unaware that he had delivered exactly the same address a month earlier. These are lapses, and these aren’t good signs in proper governance. What’s Mugabe’s interest in the seventh term?
 Obviously, he’s frail, and that’s bad for governance. But, you’ll be surprised that Zimbabwe's ruling party at the weekend publicly endorsed 91-year-old President Mugabe as its candidate for elections in 2018. I’m not sure about him wanting to be president. I’m sure that Backstage, his focus is on whom he wants as his successor.
 You’ve made a vital point there, because even at that endorsement occasion, Godfrey Kanyenze (head of the Labor and Economic Research Institute of Zimbabwe) said that Mugabe’s focus is on retaining power, or accessing power as a way of securing his gains and privileges -he loses power, his farms and businesses will be undermined. 

The President definitely wants to retain power within. Zimbabwe's economy has been in crisis for 15 years since land reforms led to a collapse of agriculture. I think someone else should be given a chance. No matter how good it seems, you can’t know there’s something or someone better if you don’t try. You’ve heard he recently appointed his nephew as minister? 

Yes. Vice-President Mnangagwa is seen as a front-runner, & Mugabe’s wife, Grace, was appointed leader of the powerful ZANU-PF women's wing last year. These are signs that Mugabe and his wife could be planning to keep power within the family.
Well, let’s just observe closely and see how it goes. For now, we’re sure that Mugabe’s actions proves that he wants power to remain within –even though he’s not elected, he wants  someone at his beck-and-call to be elected.

Mugabe has never named a successor, and it seems chances of an outsider winning the next election are seen as slim. "The opposition is nowhere," said Masunungure.