Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party is gearing up for its extraordinary congress that is set to take place on Friday in Harare.

The congress would see President Emmerson Mnangagwa being endorsed as the party leader by the country’s 10 provinces.

The state-owned Herald newspaper, reported on Tuesday that the aim of the congress would be to "endorse changes that came up as a result of Operation Restore Legacy that helped stop ruinous divisions in the revolutionary party".

The report quoted Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo as saying that the revolutionary party was "ready to roar and would emerge stronger after the congress ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections".

Zanu-PF announced recently that Mnangagwa would be the party's preferred candidate in the 2018 elections.

The congress was initially scheduled to confirm former president Robert Mugabe as Zanu-PF’s candidate for next year’s elections. It was also meant to provide a platform for the rise of his wife Grace Mugabe to the position of vice-president, putting her in line to succeed her husband.

But the tide had since changed, and war veterans and military strongmen were now expected to get influential posts within the party.