HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's wife once said the 93-year-old leader should run "as a corpse" in the 2018 elections if he dies before the vote. Now politically ambitious Grace Mugabe is positioning herself as a possible successor, saying one of the ruling party's two vice presidents should be a woman.

Grace Mugabe's remarks on Thursday inject extra intrigue into a succession debate that has featured fighting within the ruling ZANU-PF party and a widespread sense of uncertainty in a country with debilitating economic problems.

State broadcaster ZBC quotes Grace Mugabe as saying the ruling party should restore a rule stating that one of its two vice presidents, currently both men, should be a woman.

The president has traditionally picked his party vice presidents for the same positions in the government.