What are people voting for?
The key electoral issues in Zimbabwe are unemployment, increasing poverty, economic malaise and the weakening of governance institutions. The Zanu-PF government has captured state institutions, like the central bank, and this is likely to continue if Zanu-PF wins. Read more about the issues here.
What has been happening in the run-up?
The election has already been hotly contested. The Supreme Court has disallowed former cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere to take part. And on Thursday, 3 August, Tinashe Chitsunge, a CCC member, was stoned to death. Opposition parties have also raised concerns that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is in cahoots with Zanu-PF to create conditions that favour the incumbent head of state and his party.
How are projections looking?
A poll of 2,000 registered voters, conducted by Elite Africa Research in June, found that if the elections were held then, 47.6% of respondents would vote for Chamisa. More recent research, such as the Afrobarometer survey and Fitch report, show Zanu-PF and Mnangagwa leading the polls. Afrobarometer recorded a decline in people indicating they would vote for the CCC.
What it boils down to
Unfortunately, Zimbabwe looks set to have another contested election outcome. Zanu-PF will likely retain power, given its advantages of incumbency and manipulation of state resources. There is also the military factor, which unofficially guarantees election victory to whoever controls it.
Still, Phillip van Niekerk, editor of Daily Maverick’s Africa Unscrambled newsletter, says the election is an opportunity to restore trust and confidence between the government and international community. Fingers crossed.
High stakes
Musa Kika, who most recently was the Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, said the importance of the elections cannot be understated. “For the nation’s future and citizens, the struggle for Zimbabwe’s democratic soul must be addressed now,” wrote Kika.
