Do or die for Tsvangirai in third bid for power
Tsvangirai has spent the past 14 years building up his Movement for Democratic Change party to make it the only credible alternative to Mugabe's Zanu-PF. Even his closest supporters may believe a loss would mean he had been outmanoeuvred by Mugabe one too many times.
The election represented Morgan Tsvangirai's third opportunity to dethrone Robert Mugabe.
Tsvangirai has spent the past 14 years building up his Movement for Democratic Change party to make it the only credible alternative to Mugabe's Zanu-PF. Even his closest supporters may believe a loss would mean he had been outmanoeuvred by Mugabe one too many times.
"This is a do-or-die election for him," said Eldred Masunungure, a political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe. "After being at the helm of the party since September 1999, if he loses, surely he must consider dropping the hat for someone else."
It has been a long journey for the 61-year-old to get this far. Born to a large family in grinding poverty in the eastern district of Buhera, he had to quit school early and go to work to help his siblings get an education.
After working for 10 years at Bindura Nickel Mine he became leader of the country's largest union, spearheading national strikes in the 1990s against Mugabe's economic policies.
Such actions pushed the teetotal, non-smoking Tsvangirai to political prominence.