Opinion / Columnist
President Mugabe is still the people's choice
14 Oct 2015 at 11:16hrs | Views
The recent survey by Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) clearly indicated that the people across the country have trust and faith in President Mugabe and the ruling party, ZANU-PF apart from other opposition parties.
The survey results cannot be disputed as it truly reflects feelings and opinions of the people of Zimbabwe. Normally public opinions involve the collection of views of many different people which will then be summed up.
The findings of the survey insinuate that the people of Zimbabwe have faith and trust in the policies of the revolutionary party. ZANU-PF is a people's party with pro-people ideology that accommodates the needs and wants of every citizen; hence, becoming the most liked and favored political party.
What the MPOI survey believed about President Mugabe is more significant than anything else. There are things which are manifestly clear about President. Firstly, President is the most popular choice and there is none in the country at the moment, who could match him in terms of popularity, acceptability, appeal, leadership qualities, vision and administrative acumen.
Some sections of the media and political commentators portrayed President Mugabe in a negative manner saying that most people who vote for him and ZANU-PF cast their votes not because they trust him but because they are afraid of him.
But how can this be true?
Surely, one would wonder how this can be possible. Is it not that people go individually to cast their votes in ballot boxes? Voting is done secretly such that no one will even notice who the person ahead or next to him/her voted for. People choose their leaders through ballot boxes.
Consequently, public opinions like MPOI are of paramount importance in a democracy. Freedom of speech and expression is the cornerstone of democracy in any given country. That social-economic and political survey by think tanks like MPOI and Afrobarometer is necessary as it helps to assess and upgrade the political and economic status of a nation.
Political analysts who have been dismissing the recent MPOI survey outcome should do so at their own peril. These analysts should be reminded that such surveys are also used to measure people's attitudes on political, social and economic matters.
These surveys have been done before and proven correct through election results. In 2013, ZANU-PF won elections resoundingly against its rivals. Afrobarometer, another reliable think tank revealed early this year that people have confidence in President Mugabe and the ruling party's leadership.
Political surveys are not done in Zimbabwe alone, but across the globe. It is therefore imperative to note that Afrobarometer also do such political researches in more than 30 African nations.
Truth be told, President Mugabe is gaining popularity by each day whilst on the other MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai is fast losing grassroot support. What the voters need from politicians are vibrant policies that that cater for the needs of the majority.
Unfortunately for Tsvangirai and his opposition party there has never been any tangible policy since its inception in 1999. A single policy that Mr Morgan is well known for is boycotting. Recently, Tsvangirai boycotted the burial of Nkulumane legislator, Thamsanqa Mahlangu. As a leader of MDC-T, Tsvangirai's decision of failing to attend the burial of Mahlangu was intolerant as some of his party members believed that it was done on factional basis. In actual fact, he betrayed his party members and followers.
A bell should ring in Tsvangirai's mind that when one is a leader, he should be moral and well behaved. A bad leader is shunned by his/her followers. These are some of the factors that make Tsvangirai lose support as is the case in the recent research by MPOI survey.
The accuracy of the results of MPOI will also be witnessed in 2018 after the harmonized elections. The electorate will cast their votes choosing a leader they have trust in.
The survey results cannot be disputed as it truly reflects feelings and opinions of the people of Zimbabwe. Normally public opinions involve the collection of views of many different people which will then be summed up.
The findings of the survey insinuate that the people of Zimbabwe have faith and trust in the policies of the revolutionary party. ZANU-PF is a people's party with pro-people ideology that accommodates the needs and wants of every citizen; hence, becoming the most liked and favored political party.
What the MPOI survey believed about President Mugabe is more significant than anything else. There are things which are manifestly clear about President. Firstly, President is the most popular choice and there is none in the country at the moment, who could match him in terms of popularity, acceptability, appeal, leadership qualities, vision and administrative acumen.
Some sections of the media and political commentators portrayed President Mugabe in a negative manner saying that most people who vote for him and ZANU-PF cast their votes not because they trust him but because they are afraid of him.
But how can this be true?
Surely, one would wonder how this can be possible. Is it not that people go individually to cast their votes in ballot boxes? Voting is done secretly such that no one will even notice who the person ahead or next to him/her voted for. People choose their leaders through ballot boxes.
Consequently, public opinions like MPOI are of paramount importance in a democracy. Freedom of speech and expression is the cornerstone of democracy in any given country. That social-economic and political survey by think tanks like MPOI and Afrobarometer is necessary as it helps to assess and upgrade the political and economic status of a nation.
Political analysts who have been dismissing the recent MPOI survey outcome should do so at their own peril. These analysts should be reminded that such surveys are also used to measure people's attitudes on political, social and economic matters.
These surveys have been done before and proven correct through election results. In 2013, ZANU-PF won elections resoundingly against its rivals. Afrobarometer, another reliable think tank revealed early this year that people have confidence in President Mugabe and the ruling party's leadership.
Political surveys are not done in Zimbabwe alone, but across the globe. It is therefore imperative to note that Afrobarometer also do such political researches in more than 30 African nations.
Truth be told, President Mugabe is gaining popularity by each day whilst on the other MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai is fast losing grassroot support. What the voters need from politicians are vibrant policies that that cater for the needs of the majority.
Unfortunately for Tsvangirai and his opposition party there has never been any tangible policy since its inception in 1999. A single policy that Mr Morgan is well known for is boycotting. Recently, Tsvangirai boycotted the burial of Nkulumane legislator, Thamsanqa Mahlangu. As a leader of MDC-T, Tsvangirai's decision of failing to attend the burial of Mahlangu was intolerant as some of his party members believed that it was done on factional basis. In actual fact, he betrayed his party members and followers.
A bell should ring in Tsvangirai's mind that when one is a leader, he should be moral and well behaved. A bad leader is shunned by his/her followers. These are some of the factors that make Tsvangirai lose support as is the case in the recent research by MPOI survey.
The accuracy of the results of MPOI will also be witnessed in 2018 after the harmonized elections. The electorate will cast their votes choosing a leader they have trust in.
Source - Peacemaker Zano
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
