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Zimpapers Elections Desk

ZANU PF is poised to win the August 23 harmonised elections by a landslide, a reputable survey has revealed.

The Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI), whose results were released this week, says opposition parties lag far behind the ruling party, dovetailing with several other surveys, including from Fitchtech that has also predicted a ZANU PF win.

MPOI has previously correctly predicted the country’s polls outcome and in its latest findings, it said if elections were to be conducted today, the ruling party would emerge victorious.

The survey showed that if presidential elections would be held today, ZANU PF would attract 35 percent of the total vote while the opposition CCC would probably garner a 27 percent vote.

According to the survey, 63 percent of Zimbabweans say they are interested in the elections and will most likely vote in the August 23 polls.

A political analyst Mr Gibson Nyikadzino said ZANU PF victory was inevitable.

“Besides the findings that ZANU PF will win the election, the survey by MPOI highlights critical findings that the majority of people trust ZANU PF over other parties, this tells it all that the impending ZANU PF victory is set to cause a political earthquake and a shift in public opinion in favour and towards the ruling party,” he said.

Another analyst Rutendo Matinyarare said President Mnangagwa has delivered his promises and that automatically qualifies him to be re-elected.

“ED (the President) has given Zimbabweans tangible results in a very long time: roads, bridges, electricity infrastructure, dams and record output in agriculture (tobacco record, wheat record) and gold record.

“Meanwhile, there are no tangible results from municipalities. This gives people a huge compulsion to vote for ZANU PF because it’s delivering,” he said.

According to a survey by the United States-based Fitch Solutions, a ZANU PF win is inevitable.

The ruling party, ZANU PF, “will win a comfortable majority” in this year’s harmonised elections and “remain the dominant political party force in Zimbabwe over the coming years”, read the report from the New York headquartered firm.

The firm is considered a leading provider of credit intelligence and a source of up-to-date socio-economic and political data used by the world’s leading financial institutions, multinational companies and government agencies, as well as consulting firms in 118 countries.

In its report titled “Zimbabwe Country Risk Report”, which includes a 10-year economic forecast, the information services company also describes President Mnangagwa as a “reform-minded” leader, whose Government will “focus on efforts to strengthen the economy and attract investment, as well as (in the short term) manage the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

“At Fitch Solutions, we expect that real GDP (gross domestic product) in Zimbabwe will accelerate to 2,4 percent in 2023, from 2 percent in 2022,” reads part of the report.

“The acceleration in growth in 2023 will be driven by a more expansionary fiscal policy in the run-up to the elections in the middle of the year and an easing of price pressures, which should provide further support to consumers.

“However, we still expect that ZANU PF will win a comfortable majority in the parliamentary elections, with the ruling administration benefiting from a host of incumbency advantages.”

ZANU PF, the report adds, would likely remain the dominant political force for the foreseeable future.

The survey from MPOI comes at a time when the Pan African Forum Limited, a forum that constitutes an informal network of African scholars and university student leaders both current and past, noted that President Mnangagwa will emerge the victor as he commands a 75 percent popularity.

Pan African Forum Limited was formed as a lobby group to support the African Union’s objectives on international aspects and other initiatives, at national, sub-regional, regional, and international levels.

In the study that was distributed proportionately to the voters register 3 110, respondents took part. There was a +/-2 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level. “(President)…Mnangagwa is the most preferred candidate to be the President of Zimbabwe,” the survey noted.

President Mnangagwa’s closest challenger, Mr Nelson Chamisa, who leads the CCC lags far behind with a measly 19 percent, while other parties share the remainder.

The study also shows that 98 percent of the registered voters “are very certain that they will vote in the next General Election.”