- Four in five Zimbabweans (79%) support choosing their leaders through regular, open, and honest elections, while 21% favour alternative methods. o Among 38 African countries surveyed in 2024/2025, Zimbabweans’ support for elections is above average (74%). o Among citizens who trust the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) "a lot," nine in 10 (90%) support elections, compared to 70% of those who trust it “not at all.”
- Fewer than half (49%) of respondents trust the ZEC “somewhat” or “a lot.” o Trust falls sharply as educational attainment rises.
- A slim majority (52%) of Zimbabweans rate the 2023 election as "completely free and fair" or "free and fair with minor problems.”
- Three-fourths (76%) of citizens say they are free to choose whom to vote for without feeling pressured, up from 65% in 2009.
- Fear of political intimidation or violence during election campaigns declined sharply over the same period, from 83% to 31%.
- An overwhelming majority (88%) of respondents believe elected officials should follow voters’ demands rather than their own ideas.
In November 2017, Zimbabwe’s military effected a bloodless coup, removing longtime President Robert Mugabe and transferring power to then-Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Although Zimbabweans have historically been strong supporters of elections, Mugabe’s ousting was widely celebrated after mass demonstrations calling for his resignation in the days leading up to his ousting (Njanji & Jongwe, 2017; Ndoma & Kokera, 2017).
Since the emergence of a strong political opposition in 1999, Zimbabwe’s national elections have frequently been marked by violence, corruption, and contested outcomes. Observers have documented police brutality, abductions, assassinations, voter intimidation, and electoral irregularities, which have contributed to declining trust in the electoral system and increasing voter disengagement (Matchaba-Hove, 2008; Human Rights Watch, 2023a, 2023b; Amnesty International, 2023; International Commission of Jurists, 2023). The 2008 presidential run-off was particularly violent, resulting in more than 200 deaths as Mugabe used coercive means, including the police and military, to retain power.
Recent media reports highlight continuing concerns about partisan bias within the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), including allegations of gerrymandering (Burke & Chingono, 2023). Voter turnout in national elections has declined over time. In the 2023 harmonised elections, 4.56 million citizens cast ballots, yielding a turnout of 68.9% of registered voters, down from 82.5% in 2018. A group of non-governmental organisations attributed this drop in turnout to citizens losing faith in the electoral process (Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network, 2023).
While Mnangagwa’s second full five-year term is set to end in 2028, the ruling ZANU-PF adopted a proposal in October to amend the Constitution to extend it to 2030. Critics argue that such a deferral would violate constitutional provisions requiring elections to be held within a fixed timeframe (Muronzi, 2025; Mbofana, 2025).
In the context of popular support for Mugabe’s overthrow and the current attempt to postpone the 2028 elections, this study draws on an Afrobarometer survey from 2024 to explore Zimbabweans’ support for elections and perceptions of election quality.
Findings reveal that eight in 10 citizens support elections as the best way to choose the country’s leaders, a level from which it has deviated little over the past two decades.
Only about half of survey participants say they trust the ZEC “somewhat” or “a lot.” Trust in the electoral management body may play an important role in legitimising elections, as respondents who trust the ZEC are significantly more likely to support elections.
Fear of political intimidation or violence during election campaigns has declined markedly, from roughly four-fifths of the population in 2009 to fewer than one-third in 2024, while a growing share of the citizenry feel free to choose whom to vote for without pressure.
Expectations of representative leadership are high: An overwhelming majority of citizens say elected leaders should prioritise voter demands over their own ideas.
