A MASS Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) survey has predicted that President Emmerson Mnangagwa would stand no chance against opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa if elections were to be held today.
According to the MPOI Afrobarometer round nine surveys released yesterday, 33% of the respondents said they would vote for the CCC leader against 30% who vouched for Mnangagwa.
Zanu PF, which has previously applauded MPOI’s surveys, dismissed the latest survey as “straw polls”.
“I do not comment on straw polls,” Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa said.
The party’s information director Tafadzwa Mugwadi added: “We don’t dignify rehearsed, unscientific, nonsense published as research outcomes. Zanu PF will romp to a whitewash victory in 2023.”
But academic Methuseli Moyo said Zanu PF risked ignoring the survey outcome at its peril.
“MPOI has over the years built a reputation in the field of surveys. Based on that, it is safe to agree with their results, which will surely cause excitement in some quarters and anxiety in others. As things stand, the situation favours the opposition, and the MPOI survey results cannot be faulted,” Moyo said.
Political analyst Phillan Zamchiya added: “The people are not happy about economic mismanagement, grabbing of natural resources like land and minerals, soaring prices of basic goods, the rise of domestic and gender-based violence, corruption and deteriorating infrastructure.”
The MPOI survey says Mnangagwa’s popularity has declined as ordinary Zimbabweans demand answers over the harsh economic climate characterised by skyrocketing prices of goods and services.
Mnangagwa has instead accused businesses of conniving to increase prices to force ordinary Zimbabweans to riot and oust him from
power.
Political analyst Vivid Gwede said: “It is a significant finding that Chamisa has gained while Mnangagwa has lost potential voters. Given that most such surveys previously pointed to Zanu PF wins, this swing is significant nearly a year to the next elections.”