Harare: Zimbabwe's former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn in as President on Friday marking a new era for a country dominated by Robert Mugabe whose swift downfall this week ended 40 years in power.

The ruling ZANU-PF party has nominated Mnangagwa to fill the vacancy left by Mugabe on Tuesday and he will be sworn in on Friday, said Jacob Mudenda, the speaker of parliament.

Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa as Vice-President two weeks ago to smooth a path to the succession for his wife Grace, who is much younger than the 93-year-old leader. Mnangagwa fled for his own safety and the military seized control, shattering Mugabe's authority.

Mugabe held on for a week with ZANU-PF and others urging him to resign. He stepped down finally on Tuesday moments after parliament began an impeachment process. People danced in the streets and some brandished posters of Mnangagwa and army chief Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, who led the takeover.

Mnangagwa returned to Zimbabwe on Wednesday, a ZANU-PF official said.

"I am advised that the swearing-in ceremony is planned for Friday," Mudenda said. Mnangagwa issued a statement from hiding on Tuesday calling on Zimbabweans to unite to rebuild the country.

Other African countries have seen veteran leaders ousted by popular uprisings or in elections.

By contrast, the military has ushered Mnangagwa to the threshold of power and for decades he was a faithful ally of Mugabe in charge of internal security in the mid-1980s when rights groups say 20,000 civilians were killed.

Zimbabwe's next leader faces the task of restoring the country's fortunes. Alleged human rights abuses and flawed elections prompted many western countries to impose sanctions in the early-2000s that hurt the economy.

Chinese investment softened the blow but the population of 16 million remains mainly poor and faces currency shortages and high unemployment. Staging clean elections next year will be key to winning fresh investment.

Mnangagwa is almost certain to win that election but it would be a victory for the country's "old elites" with the aid of China, said Guenther Nooke, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's personal representative for Africa.

"He will manage to get elected using fear or many tricks, and then we'll have a succession from one tyrant to the next," Nooke told broadcaster SWR2. Reuters