Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 December 2025
This chapter outlines a comprehensive multimethod approach that integrates ethnography and quantitative data analysis to explore the concept of exit. Building on Hirschman’s exit–voice–loyalty theory, the chapter delineates two distinct forms of exit: permanent exit, characterized by the death of voters, and partial exit, which can be either forced or voluntary and does not always involve physical migration. The latter includes phenomena such as migration-related remittances, which symbolize loyalty from emigrants to those who remain. The chapter highlights how partial exit can manifest through voter attrition, often attributed to pandemic fatigue. The narrative indicates that the government did not instigate this exit, but it later discovered covert methods to leverage it for political gain. The chapter introduces the reader to the voter exit premium, the additional votes bolstering ZANU PF due to voter exit. Exit premium is calculated in Chapters 3 and 4.
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