Zimbabweans excited about presidential polls but fear violence: Survey
The majority of Zimbabweans are worried about political violence as the country prepares for elections next month while on the other hand, most people are more interested in the presidential election, according to a pre-election poll.
The pre-election poll data published on July 10, 2023, by Afrobarometer and Mass Public Opinion Institute, six in 10 people “fear political violence” due to the August 23, 2023, elections that will determine Zimbabwe’s president, Members of Parliament, and council members.
“About six in 10, that is 59 percent, express fear of becoming victims of political violence during elections. Nearly half (48 percent) say that the conduct of previous elections has often always led to violence in their constituency. Half of the citizens say the conduct of previous elections has led to violence in their neighbourhood. A majority say that competition between political parties leads to violent conflict,” the poll stated.
Nevertheless, people showed a huge interest in the presidential race, followed by local authority elections, then Member of Parliament, while senatorial elections have the least interest.
Although there are 11 presidential contenders, most citizens believe the battle will be between Zanu PF’s Emmerson Mnangagwa and Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa.
“More than half of citizens are fairly interested in the different components of the elections. The highest interest is for the Presidential election with more than six in 10 people 63 percent expressing interest,” said the survey on attitudes toward elections and political parties.
The pre-election survey also stated that opinions on the opposition are divided, with some believing that opposition parties have a vision and a plan, while others believe that the opposition lacks solutions.
This could explain why pre-election polls show a drop in support for the CCC and an increase in support for Zanu PF, as 27 percent of respondents said they plan to vote for Chamisa, a six percent reduction from June 2022.
35 percent of the people claimed they will vote for President Mnangagwa yet the same poll said an ‘overwhelming’ 85 percent said the government, controlled by Zanu PF, is performing very badly.
However, 27 percent of individuals refused to say who they would hypothetically vote for in the presidential election, which is not surprising considering that the same survey confirmed that 59 percent are afraid of becoming political violence victims.
The pre-election survey also said 65 percent of Zimbabweans said the country is going in the wrong direction while 69 percent said the country’s economic condition is fairly bad or very bad
“More than six in 10 people, that is 62 percent of the citizens, said their living conditions are fairly bad or very bad. An equal proportion of Zimbabweans, that is 62 percent both from rural and urban areas, share the same sentiments that their living conditions are fairly bad or very bad,” the pre-election survey data showed.
The pre-election survey was conducted between April 29, 2023 to May 13, 2023 with a sample size of 2 400 adult citizens with a margin of error of +/- two percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
According to Afrobarmoter, all respondents were chosen at random and face to face interviews were conducted in the respondent’s preferred language.
