Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa casts his ballot as he votes at Sherwood Park Primary School in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe July 30, 2018. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa cast his vote on Monday in the first election since the removal of Robert Mugabe, rejecting claims made by his former mentor a day earlier that the election would not be free.

Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old former intelligence chief, is facing off against Nelson Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer and preacher who is vying to become Zimbabwe’s youngest head of state.