From Chimanimani, a small town on the Mozambique border, to Tsholotsho, another small town on the far side of the country where the President’s former spin doctor is standing against the ruling Zanu (PF) party, to the capital, Harare, where 25,000 people attended an opposition rally yesterday, something remarkable is happening. Zimbabweans are openly challenging Mr Mugabe — and believe that his days may be numbered.

“In December I said we would be lucky to get 25 of the 120 seats,” David Coltart, Shadow Justice Minister for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said. “There is no doubt we will get the majority vote. There is a buzz here that I have never seen before.”

It may be false hope, of course. Nobody doubts the Government’s determination to rig the election. It has redrawn the electoral boundaries, will use intimidation at the polling stations and has apparently falsified the electoral roll. But such is the mood that the risks of defying the popular will are growing by the day.

Yesterday Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo and a fierce critic of Mr Mugabe, called for a “Ukraine-style, peaceful, popular uprising” if the election is stolen. Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, addressed 25,000 supporters yesterday at a football ground in Harare’s Highfield township — one of the biggest crowds seen in the capital since independence in 1980. “This time Mugabe is going for sure,” he said. “The world will be watching us. They think Zimbabweans are too passive and can’t remove Mugabe. Show them.”