Cape Town - Zimbabwe is headed for another hung parliament as support for the country’s two main parties and political principals remains evenly balanced, according to a report.
The Daily News online reported on Sunday that a new opinion poll shows President Robert Mugabe apparently closing the gap on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the man who beat him in the 2008 March elections.
A local think tank, Mass Public Opinion Institute, conducted the fieldwork for the poll commissioned by Afrobarometre, concluding that no party would secure the presidency without going for second round voting.
Results of the poll show a resurgent Zanu-PF on 32% from 10%. The MDC, no longer the most popular party in the country, dropped from 38% to 31%.
The survey of about 2 400 Zimbabweans of voting age, shows that 22% refused to express a party preference.
The poll confirms results of US pollster Freedom House's June opinion poll, which again confirmed that the MDC is facing a rough ride in the fragile coalition government and its leader seems to have been outwitted by his 88-year-old foe, a cunning political veteran who has used a grim mix of political savvy, charm, intimidation and violence to cripple political opposition.
With a call for a national election on the cards as soon as March 2013, Tsvangirai and his MDC face a tough election battle against Zanu-PF.
- News24