Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn in as president on Friday, according to Zimbabwe's state broadcaster.
The report by the government-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) said Mnangagwa will arrive in the capital Harare later on Wednesday.
Mnangagwa, 75, had not been in the country since November 6 when he was sacked by Robert Mugabe, his former ally.
Mugabe resigned as president on Tuesday evening after a week of intense pressure following a military takeover.
Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn in as president on Friday, according to Zimbabwe's state broadcaster.
The report by the government-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) said Mnangagwa will arrive in the capital Harare later on Wednesday.
Mnangagwa, 75, had not been in the country since November 6 when he was sacked by Robert Mugabe, his former ally.
Mugabe resigned as president on Tuesday evening after a week of intense pressure following a military takeover.
Much of that pressure stemmed from Mugabe's decision to remove Mnangagwa, who is seen as close to the Zimbabwean armed forces.
At the airport where Mnangagwa was due to arrive, large crowds were gathering to welcome the former vice president.
Ezekiel Gadzi, 52, told Al Jazeera he was elated at Mnangagwa's return because Mnangagwa had promised that he would return to make Zimbabwe a more democratic country.
"A new era is about to begin and I look forward to Mnangagwa becoming leader of Zimbabwe. Had it not been for him and the support he got from the war veterans and the army, we would still be under the yoke of Robert Mugabe. But Mnangagwa has is now returning to lead a new dispensation," he said.
Tatenda Chari, a unemployed teacher in his mid-twenties shared Gadzi's sentiments and said that he hoped the incoming leader would improve Zimbabwe's economy.
Mnangagwa, like Mugabe, is a veteran of the struggle for independence from Britain. He is considered by the military to be an appropriate replacement for the former president, who at 93 was Africa's oldest leader.
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