Zimbabwe?s parliamentary election has turned into a political generation battle as President Robert Mugabe?s ruling ZANU-PF fields a clutch of senior citizens against a much more youthful opposition.

Among the ZANU-PF veterans who Mugabe has pulled out of retirement for today?s vote is 80-year-old Victoria Chitepo, the widow of a famous liberation hero who is being sent in against an opposition candidate half her age.

Analysts say the 81-year-old president?s decision to turn to elderly stalwarts follows an unprecedented power struggle within ZANU-PF over Mugabe?s likely successor, which caused a division between the old guard and young Turks.

The struggle began after Mugabe chose the wife of a former army general as vice president, putting her in line to succeed him and sidelining more mainstream leaders.The turmoil has seen former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, once Mugabe?s key aide and at 48 a standard-bearer for the new generation of ZANU-PF leaders, obliged to stand as an independent candidate.

Other young ZANU-PF stars were also sidelined by the row, leaving Mugabe relying on old friends. ?There is a sense that the older members of the party want to reclaim it from the young members. There was no option but to bring back the old guard and recycle them to ensure that certain interests are safeguarded,? said Goodwill Shana, the Zimbabwe national chairman of Transparency International.

Mugabe?s ZANU-PF has vowed to win a two-thirds majority in the poll, which would enable it to modify the constitution to bolster its power and weaken the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Top ranks of ZANU-PF?s candidates are made up of men and women over the age of 60. Several are in parliament since the independence. By contrast, the majority of the MDC?s team is under the age of 55.