AT LEAST 67 percent of the country’s citizens say they will ‘definitely’ vote in the 2023 elections but there is less interest among the youth, an Afrobarometer survey says.
The survey says the majority of definite voters are found in Midlands and Masvingo, and the least in Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South.
“Two-thirds (67%) of citizens say they will “definitely” vote in the 2023 harmonised elections. In addition, 19% say they will “probably” vote, and 7% they may or may not do so, while the rest say they will “probably” (2%) or “definitely” (5%) not vote,” the latest survey reads in part.
“The middle-aged (83% of those aged 36-55 years) are more likely to be registered than either their younger counterparts (54% of those aged 18-35 years) or the older generation (72% of those aged 56 years or more).”
It adds: “Midlands (80%) and Masvingo (78%) have the largest shares of “definite” voters, while the smallest proportion is recorded in Bulawayo/Mat North/Mat South (57%).”
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has since warned that Matabeleland North, South and Bulawayo look set to lose a number of constituencies during the delimitation exercise as they have the least number of registered voters.
“The poorest citizens (75%) are more likely to say they will vote than their better-off counterparts (59%-66%). Young respondents (52%) are considerably less likely to indicate an intention to vote than their elders (77%-80%),” the report adds.
The Afrobarometer team in Zimbabwe, led by the Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI), interviewed 1,200 adult citizens of Zimbabwe between 28 March and 10 April 2022 during the survey.
Previous surveys were conducted in Zimbabwe in 1999, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2021.
