Mugabe trails Tsvangirai

Polls show Mugabe is trailing Tsvangirai and latecomer Makoni is a potential surprise winner. The survey which was conducted by the Mass Public Opinion Institute shows that last week Tsvangirai held a commanding lead (28.3% of the poll) over Mugabe (20.3%). Makoni had 8.6% but could emerge as a shock winner because there is a huge pool of voters who refused to reveal their choices. According to the survey, most of the undecided voters are likely to be Makoni's supporters, the survey says.

At least 23.5% said their vote was their secret, 7.5% refused to say anything, 5.4% will not vote, 4.4% said 'I don't know', 1.9% were categorised as 'other', and 1% will vote for Langton Towungana, the other candidate in the election. Business Day reports that Tsvangirai is likely to win in urban areas, while Mugabe was bound to win in rural areas. Makoni has appeal both in urban and rural areas.