Voting pattern in January 20th polls was predictable – Simutanyi

Political analyst Neo Simutanyi

Political analyst Neo Simutanyi says the voting pattern witnessed in the just ended presidential election was predictable and cannot be said to be tribal.

Dr. Simutanyi says the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) for instance, was already expected to perform well in Southern, Western and North Western provinces.

He says this means that the voting pattern observed in these three provinces cannot be considered as being tribal driven.

Dr. Simutanyi has explained to Qfm News in an interview that this is because what has been happening in these regions is the diminishing of the opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).

He says in Southern Province for example, the UPND performed well because part of the 20 percent votes which the MMD had in the province in the previous election had gone to the UPND as a result of some MMD members opting not to vote for the ruling Patriotic Front (PF).

Dr. Simutanyi, who is also Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director, states that such a voting pattern thus implies that the just ended presidential election requires the ruling PF to do a soul search.

He says the results of the presidential election are an indication that despite winning the election, the ruling party needs to work harder.