'Never mind my hangover‚ I'm going to vote‚' says Zim muso

Not even a hangover could stop some Zimbabweans from voting after a night of revelry on the eve of a historic election.

"I slept at 3am and woke up at 6am. I have cast my vote‚ now I can go home and sleep‚" said local music personality DJ Keetho after making his mark.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa cast his ballot at Sheerwood Primary School in Kwekwe and wished every candidate good luck. Mnangagwa‚ the Zanu-PF incumbent‚ is facing off with MDC Alliance opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to take over from Robert Mugabe‚ who was ousted after a decades-long rule last year.

"This has to be a peaceful day for everyone. Good luck to all the candidates‚" he said.

Voting day proceeded smoothly in the metropolitan province of Bulawayo‚ with all its polling stations having opened at 7am with long queues.

Leading politicians in the city also cast their votes. Professor Welshman Ncube of the MDC Alliance voted in Burnside in Bulawayo East‚ while presidential candidate for the MDC-T‚ Thokozani Khupe‚ is expected to cast her vote in Makokoba constituency.

MDC Alliance politician David Coltart cast his ballot in Burnside. He said he was impressed with the high voter turnout.

"We are impressed by the energy... unfortunately the queues are going slow‚ but I guarantee that the queues are faster in Zanu-PF strongholds. I have been here noticing that it's like one or two people in 15 minutes‚ therefore urban people will spend the day here‚" said Coltart.

In Victoria Falls‚ Ward B had 309 voters by 10am‚ meaning that on average there were 103 voters per hour or 1.7 per minute.

John Ncube said there was a long list of candidates and that would likely confuse the illiterate.

"I know it's democracy but there are too many candidates. I almost failed to locate my presidential choice because unlike the two big parties he didn't do anything to inform us about where to locate him on the ballot paper‚" said Ncube.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said 5.6-million people were registered to vote in the polls.