In Zimbabwe, hungry voters ask who will feed us?

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

SHANGANI, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - With her hand on her cheek, the 68-year-old woman gazes patiently at the cars racing past her, hoping someone will stop and buy the firewood at her feet so that she can feed her three grandchildren.

MaNcube, as she is called in her village here in Shangani, a dry arid land 360 km (228 miles) west of Zimbabwe's capital Harare, has one plea.

"If only the government could bring us food. The maize crop is a total failure and I am worried about those grandchildren of mine," she says, turning her creased face away from the sun.

MaNcube's story is all too common across Zimbabwe's once-rich countryside, and it offers an insight into why President Robert Mugabe is facing his biggest electoral challenge since coming to power 28 years ago.

Ahead of March 29 presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections, many voters say all they want is an end to the economic crisis that has left them hungry and their country in ruins.

The question is will rural voters like MaNcube, who have carried Mugabe in the past, trust him to bring this about, or will they turn away from the 84-year-old, who has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, and from his ZANU-PF party.

"There is now a convergence of grievances between rural and urban voters to the extent that you can no longer isolate the rural voter as a ZANU-PF supporter," Eldred Masunungure, a political commentator told Reuters.

"The rural areas are now a rich ground for the opposition and their vote can no longer be taken for granted. We could actually see an upset in the rural areas," he said.