’42pc tip Mnangagwa for presidency’

via ’42pc tip Mnangagwa for presidency’ – DailyNews Live 9 January 2015 by Ndakaziva Majaka

HARARE – The majority of Zimbabweans believe Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa will not take over from President Robert Mugabe, an opinion poll has shown.

Econometer Global Capital (Econometer) 2015 report, showed that only 42 percent of Zimbabweans believed Mnangagwa was poised to take over from the incumbent leader.

“When asked if they believed Mr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (current vice president of Zimbabwe) was going to takeover leadership of Zimbabwe after president Mugabe, 42 percent of Zimbabweans believed Mr Mnangagwa was poised to take over from the incumbent, the report by Econometer, a local research institute, said.

“However, 53 percent were of the feeling that he will remain a vice president even if Mr Mugabe steps down and five percent have a feeling the other vice president, Mr Phelekezela Mphoko will be entrusted with presidency after the incumbent.”

While there have been sensational claims by musician-cum-politician Energy Mutodi that Mnangagwa would succeed Mugabe in March this year, the survey dispelled those claims.

Reports indicate that party bigwigs are not happy with Mnangagwa at the moment.

He is said to have made enemies within the very circle that helped him with his meteoric rise to the vice presidency.

The Daily News reported last week that among Mnangagwa’s most rabid critics were erstwhile colleagues who played a critical role in decimating former vice president Joice Mujuru and her perceived sympathisers, a development that paved the way for his Phoenix-like rise from the political ashes to the presidium.

The sources said Mnangagwa’s former supporters were not just “peeved by his meteoric rise to the VP position” while they had to “make-do with scraps”, they were also upset that he had seemingly forgotten them and was allegedly acting as if he was now “the substantive head of State” while Mugabe is on holiday in the Far East.

As a result, some within the then anti-Mujuru grouping — particularly the so-called “Gang of Four”comprising former women’s league boss Oppah Muchinguri, Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao, Saviour Kasukuwere and Jonathan Moyo — now wanted the tail of the party strongman cut forthwith.

Econometer’s poll showed that most Zimbabweans did not believe Mugabe would be stepping down any time soon.

“Only 2,4 percent of Zimbabweans are of the belief that the current Zimbabwean leader will step down before his term ends with the remaining 97,6 percent are of the belief that he will see his term through,” the report said.

The report also showed that the majority of Zimbabweans believe the country was headed in the wrong direction.

“68 percent of Zimbabweans believe the nation is heading in the wrong direction,” the report says.

“Of the remaining 32 percent, it was strange that five percent are not even sure of whether it is a wrong or right direction with the remaining 27 percent convinced the nation is heading in the right direction.”