Analysts in the country have endorsed a report by South African based think-tank Afrobarometer which stipulates that President Robert Mugabe’s support has surged among Zimbabweans.
The study was carried late last year revealed that 63% of Zimbabweans surveyed trusted President Robert Mugabe.
Writing on his face book page last week, Dr Pedzisai Ruhanya, an independent analyst and Director of a local think tank, Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) said that the Afro-Barometer research findings are spot on.
“Why should the Zimbabwe public trust an opposition that is in disarray, constantly fighting each other, chasing each other from Parliament, descending and not ascending with morbid symptoms all over and with others celebrating their opponents in ZANU PF daily? Queried Dr. Ruhanya.
The ZDI boss went on to say that the public cannot trust the opposition simply because it opposes the Mugabe led authoritarian regime.
“The public does not owe the opposition anything if it does not exhibit political maturity, rational focus and serious thought- leadership on the decomposing political economy.
“At this moment, why should the opposition be trusted; simply because they oppose an authoritarian regime that they mimic daily? There is no organisation at all; just busy fighting each other even after their party congresses are over,” said Dr Ruhanya.
Dr Ruhanya blasted the opposition for boycotting the by elections scheduled for June this year.
“You cause an election by recalling MPs and you refuse to participate in those elections especially in your strongholds. Now, you are saying the PUBLIC should trust you, why?” He said adding that the public are rationale citizens with agency.
Gabriel Chaibva said, “The findings replicate what everyone knows and they concur with the results of July 31 harmonised elections. We would have been surprised if the findings were the other way round.”
He went on to say that the results signify the ever-growing SADC chair’s popularity.
Meanwhile opposition parties have disputed the findings. In an interview with NewsDay, a local newspaper, Professor Lovemore Madhuku, the President of the National Constitutional Assembly condemned the findings.
“It is a pack of nonsense and these people (Afrobarometer) want to a use their names to peddle falsehoods because why would anyone commission such a study at this moment? It does not add any value,” said Professor Lovemore Madhuku.
Commenting on the same article MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora also refuted the findings of the study.
“We do not agree with the finding that Mugabe and Zanu PF are popular, that the army is more popular than us cannot be true given the situation in the country. People are suffering and some have been tortured by the same institutions. These cannot then turn up as being better trusted than institutions that have done no wrong that try to provide better alternatives,” Mwonzora said.
