Ethnic group: The survey results suggest that the MDC‐T’s support base had become more
Shona‐centred than it had been in 2010 when the Ndebele constituted a slightly higher
proportion of those that declared they would vote MDC‐T than the Shona. The MDC‐T also
continues to have substantial support in the Karanga, Ndau, Zezeru and Manyika groups. ZANU‐
PF’s support base also appears to have been in flux. The single biggest ethnic chunk of its
support now seems to come from the Korekore group, followed by Shona, Zezeru, Karanga,
Ndebele and Ndau. The 2012 ethnic profile of the ‘vote is my secret’ category is not clearly
differentiated from those of the two main parties. This grouping is predominantly Shona,
followed by Zezeru, Karanga, Ndebele and Manyika.
Nationalism: The supporters of both these main parties see themselves by far as more
‘Zimbabwean’ than as a member of the ethnic group which they claimed. Twice as
manyrespondents endorse the statement that prioritises national identity as the number that
felt more ethnic than national.The respective percentage of MDC‐T and ZANU‐PF declared
supporters that see themselves as Zimbabwean were 69% and 74%.The undeclareds follow
closely, on 67% that see themselves as Zimbabweans in the first place.
Religion: The MDC‐T has a more religiously diverse support base than ZANU‐PF. Christian,
Pentecostal and Independent are the most popular religions amongst MDC‐T supporters (in
2010 results Roman Catholic, Independent and Methodist dominated). The ‘Independent
churches’ overpower the other religious denominations in ZANU‐PF ranks (this is in line with
2010). Like the ZANU‐PF grouping, the ‘vote is my secret’ cluster (2012) has Independent
churches as the most eminent religious affiliation, followed by Pentecostal, Roman Catholic and
Christian.
Age: In terms of the 2012 results, the 18‐25 year olds constitute 51% of the MDC‐T’s declared
support base in the survey – highly similar to ZANU‐PF’s 48% in this age category. The
similarities continue in the 36‐55 year old category, where a further 35% of the MDC‐T’s and
34% of ZANU‐PF’s declared base can be found. For both parties, these trends only modestly vary
compared with 2010. The ‘vote is my secret’ category age‐wise is dominated by the two lowest
age categories, jointly covering the ages 18‐35 years. Each of these two categories is 24% ‘my
vote is my secret’.
Education: The educational background profile of the declared supporters of the MDC‐T and
ZANU‐PF remained similar across the two surveys. Both parties, as for the ‘vote is my secret’
category, have the bulk of their 2012 support base in the two categories of some
secondary/high school completed, or in ‘high school completed’. Simultaneously, the ZANU‐PF
support base now has a far smaller proportion of its supporters in the categories of ‘no
education’ and more with ‘some primary school’. The MDC‐T retains its 2010 post‐secondary
education edge over ZANU‐PF. The ‘vote is my secret’ category also has a stronger post‐
secondary base than ZANU‐PF (although for all three party groupings the proportions are low in
the overall picture).
Employment: Vast majorities of the supporters of both the main parties and the undeclared
votersremain unemployed. The MDC‐T has 68% of its declared supporters unemployed, as it had
in 2010. The ‘vote is my secret’ category has the best employment profile of the three
groupings, namely 37% – or 63% unemployed. In the case of ZANU‐PF there is a substantial
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