Fitch Solutions, a global advisory, has predicted that President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU PF will likely win in general elections scheduled for August this year.
In its new report, Fitch Solutions said the opposition CCC led by Nelson Chamisa will win key votes in low-income urban areas but ZANU PF will win the overall vote due to “overarching resources” and the advantage of incumbency. The report said:
At Fitch Solutions, we believe that the incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ZANU PF party will win the upcoming general elections due to be held by August 2023.
ZANU PF’s overarching resources and influence compared to the opposition CCC, headed by Chamisa, will preserve its support in rural strongholds and win key votes in low-income urban areas.
Central to our belief that ZANU PF will win the elections is the party’s far greater political and economic resources it has to sway the vote in its favour.
The report also warns of possible unrest in the country in the run-up to and aftermath of the elections. It said:
Overall, reform momentum under another Mnangagwa presidency will remain weak and will constrain the country’s medium-term macroeconomic outlook.
We see a rising likelihood of unrest in the run-up to and aftermath of the elections, prompting us to revise down the short-term political risk index score from 38.8 to 37.9, below the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 50.1.
In the aftermath of the 2018 general elections, security forces used live rounds of ammunition to disperse protestors in central Harare.
Six people were shot dead, some were shot in the back while fleeing the mayhem, and several others were injured.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declared Mnangagwa the winner, but Chamisa contested the results of the presidential poll in court.
However, the Constitutional Court upheld Mnangagwa’s victory, saying Chamisa failed to provide evidence that the results were rigged.
More: Pindula News