THE majority of Zimbabweans prefer voting for candidates who have favourable policies rather than candidates who bribe them, a recent Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) survey has revealed.

According to the survey‘s results released Friday, the majority of citizens also say they favour candidates from their own province.

“More than eight in ten Zimbabweans (83%) say they vote for candidates whose policies they agree with rather than for candidates who give them gifts and money (33%) or belong to the same ethnic group (29%) or religious faith (20%).

But more than half (54%) of citizens also “agree” or “strongly agree” that they vote for candidates from their own province, suggesting political preferences along regional lines,” reads part of the survey’s report. The survey outcome also noted that the inclination to vote for candidates from one’s own province is stronger among rural residents (57%) than urbanites (48%) and among women (57%) compared to men(50%).

“Manicaland (36%) and Mashonaland West (46%) are the only provinces where this is not the majority view. Voting for candidates who give gifts and money or attend to personal needs, which is endorsed by 33% of respondents overall, is more popular in rural areas (36%) than in cities (27%).

“Citizens with moderate lived poverty (37%) are more likely to favour this approach than those experiencing high or no/low lived poverty,” reads the report.

The report said Manicaland residents (44%) are almost three times as likely as their counterparts in Mashonaland West (16%) to say they would vote for someone who gives them gifts or money.

Afro-barometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.

Eight survey rounds in up to 39 countries have been completed since 1999.

Source NewZimbabwe