Numbers don’t lie, ED a national phenomenon
PRESIDENT-ELECT Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa is a national leader whose countrywide popularity is evident in the votes he garnered in the presidential vote in the July 30 harmonised elections.
The statistics were released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Sunday and were published in the media yesterday.
President Mnangagwa got 2 460 463 votes (50,8 percent of the votes), beating his main rival Nelson Chamisa of MDC-Alliance who amassed 2 147 436 votes (44,3 percent).
The statistics show that the President-elect performed well in the Matabelelend regions, perceived opposition strongholds.
According to the statistics, President-elect Mnangagwa got 60 168 votes in Bulawayo, an increase from the 31 773 the ruling party’s candidate former president Robert Mugabe got in the 2013 elections, while in Matabeleland North Province he got 111 452 votes, up from the previous election’s 81 207.
In Matabeleland South, the President-elect got 107 008 votes, up from the 81 180 the ruling party’s candidate got in 2013.
In Harare, which is another perceived opposition stronghold, the President-elect debunked the myth that Zanu-PF was only popular in rural areas when he amassed 204 710 votes, up from the 172 163 that former president Mugabe got in the 2013 elections.
Statistics also showed an increase in support from the 2013 elections as shown by Mashonaland Central Province where he got 366 785 votes, up from 327 453 votes Zanu-PF got in 2013, while in Mashonaland East Province he garnered 334 617 votes, an increase from the 320 719 votes the ruling party’s candidate received in the previous election.
In Mashonaland West Province, the President-elect received 312 958 votes, an increase from the 277 312 votes which the ruling party got in
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2013.
In the remaining provinces of Masvingo and Midlands, President-elect Mnangagwa got 319 073 votes and 352 027 votes from the 285 806 and 274 793 that Mr Mugabe got in 2013.
Political analysts yesterday attributed the President’s strong showing across the country to his policy positions that have focused on the economy and the improvement of people’s livelihoods.
The observers also said the support received by the President-elect in the so-called opposition strongholds, especially the Matabeleland provinces showed that his support was national and cross-cutting.
“The MDC’s founding base of workers, academics and civic society, among other groups, may have been dissatisfied with Chamisa’s immature and student-activist approach to national politics,” said Mr Mr Goodwine Mureriwa.
“In contrast, President Mnangagwa has shifted towards reform and economic revival that the generality of people, particularly the middle ages, saw hope in.”
“Ethnicity and regional sentiments
score little in modern politics.
“There is a shift towards developmental politics. Command agriculture, command livestock, irrigation, infrastructure and communication establishments development have endeared Zanu-PF with the masses,” said Mr Mureriwa.
Another analyst, Mr Tafadzwa Mugwadi said the results in the Matabeleland regions had exposed the President-elect’s critics by confirming that his appeal was countrywide.
“It should be noted that those who attempted to smear President Mnangagwa over the Gukurahundi issue have been left with an egg on their face.
“Further, it shows that Zimbabweans have come of age and will never allow tribal fault lines of the past to hound the future. President Mnangagwa’s excellent showing in Matabeleland communities clearly presents him as a unifier and a national leader who can boast of having a national appeal as compared to his adversaries,” Mr Mugwadi said.