Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party were accused of trying to set up the elections and gain another five-year term in office, but the president denied the accusations. “We don't rig elections. I cannot sleep with my conscience if I have rigged,” he declared quoted by the AFP.

The 84-year-old president ruled uninterrupted since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. His rivals are opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and independent candidate Simba Makoni. According to the analysts, Tsvangirai seems to represent the major threat to Mugabe.

“Victory is assured in spite of the regime's attempt to subvert the will of the people,” the confident opposition leader told reporters. He also claimed that his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has evidence of widespread vote rigging. “Even if the MDC wins, the election cannot be said to be free and fair,” he declared.

Meanwhile, Makoni said he voted “for the best candidate”, meaning “for himself “and claimed that his victory chances “are very good.”

Currently, the former British colony is dealing with the world’s highest rate of inflation and an unemployment level that reached the 80 percent mark. Mugabe accused the European Union (E.U.) for his country’s economic collapse. He kept off from the invite list the E.U. observers, so the election process was monitored by representatives from China, Iran and Russia and organizations such as the African Union.

State media predicted Mugabe would win with 57 percent of the vote. Early preliminary results were expected within several hours after voting ends, but the electoral officials could not say when they will be able to declare the final results.