Chronicle Editor
JUST 42 days away from the harmonised elections, the electorate has indicated it will retain President Mnangagwa and his party, Zanu-PF in office.
That is according to an often-reliable research organisation, the Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) which released results of its survey on Monday.
The agency contacted 3 110 registered voters spread across the country 50 percent of whom said they trust the President while 41 percent trust his main challenger, Mr Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). Fifty-one percent of them said they trust the ruling party. The survey established that if presidential elections are held today, Zanu-PF would attract 35 percent of the total vote while CCC would probably garner a 27 percent vote.
President Mnangagwa remains popular among a majority of Zimbabweans with 63 percent of people in rural areas trusting him more than Mr Chamisa. Zanu-PF has 65 percent people trusting it compared to CCC’s 30 percent.
The MPOI findings confirm a number of surveys that have been conducted in recent months indicating that the ruling party is poised to win the August 23 election.
This does not surprise us given the President’s track record since 2017. His administration is implementing a range of policies that are growing the economy from mining, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing to infrastructure development.
It is strengthening the national currency and curbing inflation. It is improving the salaries and working conditions of its workers and, apart from creating a climate for the private sector to be able to do the same, is also actively encouraging them (private sector) to improve the salaries and working conditions of their employees.
The President is improving the country’s standing at the international stage, engaging and reengaging with all nations on the globe on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
He is promoting national peace and unity.
It is a whole set of positives and the electorate is aware of them thus is ready to hand him a fresh mandate on August 23 as the MPOI survey and others before it forecast.
We hope that the opposition, with the full knowledge that they are headed for yet another electoral hiding, will not provoke disorder to spoil it all for the ruling party.
Yet another important finding from the MPOI research is the confidence that the public have in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), army and police — three very critical arms that guarantee a free and fair election. Fifty-one percent of citizens trust Zec.
This is despite efforts by some to try to claim that Zec, army and police cannot be trusted.
However, the people have spoken. They trust the ruling party and its leadership and trust the institutions charged with running elections and guaranteeing law and order in the country.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter