Voters in the southern African nation of Zimbabwe are preparing to go to the polls.
The poll is also the first time since the violence-marred election five years ago to choose between the incumbent Robert Mugabe and his longtime rival turned Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.
And as Santilla Chingaipe reports, for the first time in Zimbabwe's history, this presidential election could bring an end to Robert Mugabe's three decade grip on power.
Robert Mugabe is the leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front and has ruled the country since independence in 1980.
The election will end the the power-sharing government formed four years ago by ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.
The coalition deal was reached to end widespread violence following a presidential run-off in the 2008 election.
In neighbouring South Africa, President Jacob Zuma says he hopes Zimbabwe's elections will be peaceful this time.
"I would say to the people of Zimbabwe please have your elections in peace so that they can be declared free and fair so that Zimbabweans can then be faced with the task of reconstructing Zimbabwe and indeed proving that democracy can come back to Zimbabwe as it were, so we wish them well, we wish them all well as they practice their campaigns, and we are looking forward to very pleasing outcomes".
The voting will be for a president, members of parliament and local councillors, with political parties having had just over six weeks to prepare.
According to the country's electoral commission, almost six-and-a-half-million people will be eligible to vote.
Rights groups and opponents of Robert Mugabe have already expressed concerns about potential fraud and irregularities.
However, the veteran leader has dismissed the claims.
"I have no answer to it except to tell them it is free, it is going to be free and fair. We are not forcing anyone to vote this way or that way. They will vote any way they desire."
While foreign embassies in the capital Harare have been allowed to allocate some observers, missions from the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union have been blocked.
Hopes for a substantial and credible account of the election could rest with representatives the African Union and the 15-member Southern African Development Community.
Just ahead of the election, SADC's chief observer to Zimbabwe, Bernard Membe told the BBC, he was gravely concerned that a voters' roll had not been released.
"This voters registry or voters roll is imperative. It has to be made available for the people to see, for the people to verify their names, for the people to know where they are going to vote and number two, we will be knowing how many people will be at a certain station so that we can deploy our observers at the point. We are praying that this voters roll should be made availbale to all the observers and to all the people. That's a problem. I have 164 groups of SADC observers waiting to be delpoyed and the deployment is contingent upon the numbers (of people at polling stations). "
That's a view also shared by Morgan Tsvangirai.
"With two days to go to an election, I as the presidential candidate do not have the votes roll, as we speak our chief election agent Morgan Komichi is in police custody as a result of the incompetence of ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission)."
Analysts say with no reliable opinion polls, it's hard to say whether Mr Tsvangirai will succeed in his third attempt to unseat his 89-year-old rival.
However, the Prime Minister remains optimistic.
"Our freedom will never be complete until we throw away the shackles of bitterness. After all this is done, I want president Mugabe to enjoy his retirement in peace and comfort of his homeland."
Earlier this year, Australia began easing long-standing sanctions against Zimbabwe, in recognition of its move towards holding the elections.
Share
