Zim poll: the bar for success is low, the stakes are high and it’s a close race
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the ruling Zanu-PF hope a credible victory in the July 30 election will legitimise the power (both party and state) they gained from the "soft coup" that toppled his predecessor Robert Mugabe last November. With victory, they say, the donors and dollars will flood in to the country they have resurrected from nearly two moribund decades. Zimbabwe is now "open for business" and will thrive. Zanu-PF’s resurrection will thus be complete. But a new survey suggests Zanu-PF should stall any premature celebration plans. The latest one showed that, in the space of one month, Nelson Chamisa’s MDC-Alliance has closed the gap with Zanu-PF. The surveys are conducted by Afrobarometer, an independent research network that conducts public attitude surveys across Africa and its Zimbabwean partner, Mass Public Opinion Institute, a non-profit, non-governmental research organisation. If the respondents were to cast their ballot now Mnangagwa would take 40% of...
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