By Staff Reporter
Recently released Afrobarometer said if Presidential elections were going to be held tomorrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa will win against MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
“If presidential elections were held tomorrow, one-third (33%) of respondents say they would vote for the ZANU-PF candidate, compared to one-fourth (26%) who say they would vote for the MDC-Chamisa candidate.”
“About four in 10 refused to answer, say they would not vote, or say they don’t know.”
“More than half (54%) of Zimbabweans say they feel close to a political party,” says the report key findings.
“About a quarter (27%) of citizens say they feel close to Zanu PF, while a fifth (20%) say they feel close to MDC-Chamisa.”
The report went on to say that considerably more Zimbabweans trust NGOs (79%) and religious leaders (78%) than trust the president (48%), members of Parliament (44%), or the police (38%).
Other key findings
Zimbabweans broadly commend the government for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic: 81% say it managed the response “fairly well” or “very well,” and 84% say it kept the public informed.
Four out of five respondents (81%) endorse lockdowns and school closures to curb the spread of COVID-19, although most say lockdowns were difficult to comply with and schools should have reopened much sooner.
Almost half (47%) of Zimbabweans say they lost a job, business, or primary source of income due to COVID-19.
Half (51%) of citizens say it is justified for the government to temporarily limit democratic freedoms by postponing elections or limiting political campaigning during a health emergency
Two-thirds (67%) of Zimbabweans say the country is going in the wrong direction.
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Zimbabweans say economic conditions in the country are “fairly bad” or “very bad.”
Almost two-thirds (62%) describe their personal living conditions as “fairly bad” or “very bad.”
About one-third (35%) are optimistic that macro-economic conditions will be better in 12 months’ time.
