Zanu (PF) is on record saying its strongholds recorded a huge voter turnout compared to areas where the MDC-T commands support.
Last week, Zanu (PF) activist Goodwills Masimirembwa told a discussion forum in the capital that most people who turned out to vote during the constitutional referendum clearly belonged to Zanu (PF).
Harare recorded the highest number of votes during the referendum with 515,000 people turning out to vote followed by Manicaland with 418,000. Mashonaland East recorded 397,000 votes, Mashonaland West 342,000 votes and Masvingo 304,000.
The director of the Election Resource Centre, Tawanda Chimhini, said Zanu (PF) had failed to make a distinction between an election and a referendum, and did not realise that the constitutional poll was driven by factors other than party support.
“Whether the huge turnout was in MDC-T or Zanu (PF) strongholds doesn’t really matter. The huge turnout was driven by a number of factors not just political party support. The people who voted in the referendum are not necessarily registered voters and the huge turnout was also influenced by the absence of violence that usually characterise elections in Zimbabwe. People turned out in their huge numbers because there was no contestation between Zanu (PF) and the MDC-T and that makes a referendum very different from an election,” said Chimhini.
“If we are to have a repeat of the institutional framework in the next elections and people are allowed to vote without registering then we will have a huge voter turnout. Also if the political environment is different then we will have a huge turnout of voters,” he added.
Political analyst, Charles Mangongera said it was a fallacy for the party to derive confidence of an electoral victory from the voting patterns in the referendum.
“If you calculate the percentage increase of the voters from the March 2008 polls and those reflected in the referendum, you will find out that MDC-T strongholds recorded a huge increase in the number of people who turned out to vote. The percentage increase is higher in MDC-T strongholds than in Zanu (PF) strongholds so that claim is fallacious,” said Mangongera.
Another political analyst, Alexander Rusero said it was misleading for Zanu (PF) to claim that five years after an election, they still have strongholds. “There is no guarantee for that and it’s very dangerous for a party that is battling to retain lost ground. Zanu (PF’s) election strategy is currently in quandary and it is dangerous for them to claim that most of the people who voted were from their strongholds,” said Rusero.
The highest number of votes was recorded in Harare and Manicaland. “These are not Zanu (PF) strongholds,” said MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora.
Post published in: News