Robert Mugabe has stated that he will continue as President despite widespread expectation that he would step down immediately.
During the live TV address, Mugabe said he would preside over his party's congress in December. Mugabe was sacked as the leader by the Zanu-PF party earlier on Sunday, who replaced him with former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The surprise announcement came as Mugabe appeared to skip-over sections of a pre-prepared script he was reading from.
Mugabe's Presidency appears to be on the brink of collapse after a military intervention earlier in the week.
The 93-year-old reportedly turned down the option to resign without being forced out of power, and could now be impeached.
And STILL the president of #Zimbabwe. Robert #Mugabe, in a typically verbose and defiant speech, vows to stay on. And the drama continues. pic.twitter.com/7SpL95VQrH
— Jeffrey Smith (@Smith_JeffreyT) November 19, 2017
Tens of thousands of protesters took part in a rally in Harare on Saturday demanding that the president resign. Mugabe has also lost the support of important allies like the country's army veteran organization.
What's gone wrong for Mugabe?
Mugabe's troubles began two-weeks ago when he sacked his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa. This was seen by Zanu-PF party officials as a direct attempt to prevent Mnangagwa from succeeding Mugabe as President in the future.
It is believed the President's wife Grace Mugabe is his prefered choice to take over after his death. Grace Mugabe is reported to have fled the country along with other close allies of the president.
Mnangagwa and the Zanu-PF party appear to have the support of the military who took over Zimbabwe's national television network and temporarily placed Mugabe under house arrest earlier in the week.
The military denies claims that its actions amount to a coup.
There is increasing demand for change in Zimbabwe with Mugabe commonly blamed for the poor state of the country's economy amongst other things.
#Zimbabwe anti-Mugabe march in pictures: Thousands of Zimbabweans throng Harare streets Saturday in a solidarity march organized by war veterans to push for President Robert Mugabe’s resignation pic.twitter.com/eQRf8R8Ff5
— The Citizen Tanzania (@TheCitizenTZ) November 18, 2017
What next for Zimbabwe?
Despite his apparent conviction, President Mugabe's vow to fight on may well prove to be an already lost cause.
Mugabe appears to have lost the support of his party, the military and the people of Zimbabwe.
Although the Zanu-PF vote to remove Mugabe as party leader does not automatically end his presidency, it proves that he would be easily beaten by a vote of no confidence. Mugabe's attempt to buy himself time by refusing to resign may well prove hapless.
Zanu-PF and army veteran organisation officials have urged the people of Zimbabwe to be patient, and believe that the end of Mugabe's 37-year rule is only a matter of time.