Thursday 22 March 2018

EU and SADC must judge elections on the basis of GPA, not wishy-washy MDC, reforms W Mukori


Why Zimbabwe failed to get even one democratic reform implemented after the five years og the 2008 to 2013 Government of National Unity (GNU) will remain one of the most shameful period in the country’s checked history of failures, economic blunders, corruption, betrayals, rigged elections, treason, murders, coups and counter coups. The primary task of the GNU was to implement a raft of democratic reforms designed to stop a repeat of Zanu PF’s blatant cheating and use of wanton violence that marred the 2008 elections. At the end of the GNU not even one reform had been implemented. NOT ONE!
It is true that Robert Mugabe had bribed the MDC leaders, the GNU partners expected to implement the reforms, with the gravy train lifestyle; generous salaries and allowances, ministerial limousines, a former white-owned farm and $4 million mansion for the two MDC faction leaders Welshman Ncube and Morgan Tsvangirai respectively, etc., etc. MDC leaders are, in return, kicked the reforms into the prickly pear thicket.
“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (The MDC puppets (of the West) have learnt to enjoy gravy train life, they will not rock the boat!) Zanu PF cronies used to boast, commenting on why MDC leaders were not implementing the reforms.
Yes, MDC leaders are corrupt and they sold-out on implementing the reforms but that is not all. Since the end of the GNU MDC leaders have struggle to say what the democratic reforms are, even with the benefit of hindsight; proof the principle reason not even one reform was implemented during the GNU was ignorance. MDC leaders have no clue what the democratic reforms are, even to this day.
“The reforms the people demand include — but are not limited to— the following issues:” said Nelson Chamisa, President of the MDC Alliance when he launched the party’s Plan and Environment for A Credible Election (PEACE) campaign.
“1. Environment Issues
“Given the violence that has characterized our elections; the electoral environment remains a key matter ahead of the next election.
“Zimbabweans want assurance that they will be able to express themselves in a PEACEful environment in which neither fear nor coercion are factors.
“Since 2000, Zimbabweans have needlessly lost their lives on account of their political preferences and this has been acknowledged by various observer missions, including SADC and the report of the military generals from South Africa that has since been made public.
“This is the irony of our situation that State-sponsored violence during elections has remained endemic, regardless of the fact that one of the reasons we waged a protracted liberation struggle against white colonialists was to secure that right.
“Indeed, the clarion call for “one-man-one-vote” was at the epicentre of the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe. It is ironic that coercion, fear, and outright violence continue to punctuate our elections as the State seeks to undermine the very right that we waged a protracted and brutal struggle as a nation.
“It is important that the electoral environment be conducive to the free expression of the people in a free, fair and credible plebiscite.”
He went on to list five other issues namely 2. The Voters Roll and Ballot Issues, 3. Media Reforms, 4. Abuse of traditional Leaders 5. ZEC autonomy and the ZEC secretariat.
A number of things jump out, proof here is someone with no clue what they are talking about:
a)    “Reforms the people demand include—but are not limited to” he said. For Pete’s sake we have been taking about these reforms for the last 20 years; why are you still being coy about what reforms you want?
b)    The issue of politically motivated violence is a very import one and I invite the reader to read through point 1. above which I quoted in its entirety. Remember this is supposed to be a list of “reforms the people demand”. All he has done is restate the problem but has not made even one single demand on the reforms required to end the violence. Not one!
c)     Even if these MDC leaders are not abreast with the details of the reforms they should at least know that the only effective reforms must have the full backing of parliamentary law. The proposed interparty meeting to discuss violence is of no real consequence because individual party members will never have the legal power and authority to investigate and arrest culprits, for example. Only the Police have the power and authority to investigate and arrest but have not been doing so because Zanu PF has eroded their powers hence the need for reforms and not party talks.
d)    Chamisa was a cabinet minister in the GNU and is a sitting MP and many of his party members were ministers and/or MPs and MDC Alliance should be well acquainted with the parliamentary processes required to effect any new or change in the law. It is therefore foolish for anyone to still be calling for electoral reforms with only four or five months to go to voting day.
There is no doubt that MDC leaders have no clue what democratic reforms required to ensure free, fair and credible elections are; they did not know during the GNU years and they still do not know today. The EU and SADC Election observer teams, who visited Zimbabwe recently, and all the other team to follow must ignore what the MDC leaders are saying.

Chamisa and company have already proven beyond all reasonable doubt that they are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent especially when it comes to ensuring the elections are free, fair and credible. Just ignore MDC leaders, they are a waste of time and it will be unjust to punish the people of Zimbabwe because of MDC leaders’ incompetence!

The then President Mugabe during the GNU knew what the reforms were hence the reason he bribed the MDC leaders just to be doubly sure they did not implement any.

President Mnangagwa and many other senior Zanu PF leaders too understood what the reforms were about and have resisted calls to implement the reforms post the GNU. “You can’t expect us to reform ourselves out of power,” as Professor Jonathan Moyo once said.

The Election Observer teams are in Zimbabwe to judge:

i)               whether the raft of democratic reforms, agreed by all parties in the 2008 Global Political Agreement as necessary for free, fair and credible elections, have been implemented. (We know for a fact that not even one reform was implemented.) The Observers must ignore MDC’s wishy-washy reform demands.

ii)             Whether these elections were free, fair and credible, given the political reality of not even one reform was implemented.

iii)           If the election process is flawed and illegal, the observers own it to the people of Zimbabwe and common justice to declare the process null and void. It is not for them to worry about what will happen next, let us the people of Zimbabwe worry about that!

5 comments:

  1. MDC had the golden opportunity to end the Zanu PF dictatorship during the GNU and they wasted it. Worse still, the party has failed to acknowledge its serious shortcomings and thus learnt nothing and thus will change nothing!

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  2. The bottom line is that Zimbabwe cannot afford to have yet another rigged election. Everyone, including the MDC leaders themselves, admit that not even one meaningful reform has been implemented since the July 2013 rigged elections. There is nothing that MDC have said or done to convince me the coming elections are NOT going to be rigged and they have a way to stop the rigging and/or counter the rigging.


    MDC leaders dragged the nation into the 2013 elections on the promise the new constitution will deliver free, fair and credible elections. If the people had known this was a lie, many people would have heeded SADC leaders' advice not to take part in the elections and force the implementation of the reforms.

    This year MDC leaders have, out of habit and for the sake of having an excuse to continue taking part in flawed elections, kept up the call for reforms even when it is clear no meaningful reforms can be implemented now. Even then, they have also refused to state, categorically, that they will not take part in the elections if the reforms are NOT implemented.

    Taking part in elections we know are flawed and illegal is an act of folly! Doing it because MDC leaders dragged us into doing does not make it any better. Zimbabwe is in this mess because, as a nation, we have always allowed ourselves to be led by the nose like a bull at the market. It is a crying shame that we have allowed ourselves to be led by the nose by corrupt and incompetent leaders like Tsvangirai, Biti, Chamisa, etc. By led to do an insane act once is bad enough but to do it again and again; speaks volumes about just how incompetent we are too!

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  3. @ Chuma

    We have been talking about Zanu PF rigging elections for the last 38 years and SADC leaders offered the country a solution to stopping Zanu PF rigging the elections - implement the raft of democratic reform. Unless you come up with a better solution then what is wrong with talking about the SADC solution?


    When MDC leaders sold-out during the GNU and failed to implement even one reform SADC advised that we should not take part in elections we can see are being rigged. MDC leaders did not listen and look where they landed us.


    Wilbert has addressed the current situation; the various election observers must judge these elections on the basis of whether the reforms, both SADC, Zanu PF and MDC agreed were necessary for free and fair elections, were implemented. If the reforms were not implemented, then the elections were not free and fair and must be declared null and void.


    You may not agree that declaring flawed election null and void is the solution, but you cannot deny it is A solution and therefore you cannot say Wilbert failed "to suggest solutions"!

    The only solution people like you are locked into is taking part in the elections and accepting the result as fait accompli. You cannot even imagine any other solution as a solution because it is not allowed in your black or white world. You need to think outside the box and see all the colours of the rainbow!

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  4. If you are serious about finding a solution to get Zimbabwe out of the political and economic hell-hole Zanu PF had dragged us into then you must talk of the democratic reforms spelt out in the GPA, the MDC's failure to implement even one reform during the GNU and that the only solution is to stand firm and demand the implementation of the reforms BEFORE elections.

    Yes MDC leaders sold-out during the GNU and now they are selling-out yet again by proposing these wishy-washy reforms and that we take part in these flawed elections. You cannot stand to hear the truth told about MDC leaders.

    You can tell me my analysis is wrong and why but if you think I will falsify historic facts just to message your misplace ego, think again. Zimbabwe cannot afford the luxury of yet another rigged elections and it would be criminal that this happen because someone tampered with the truth to please someone who cannot face reality! I have better things to do than message your misplaced ego.

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  5. Mugabe's greatest contribution to Zimbabwe may well be that he is the one who, in the end forced President Mnangagwa to implement the democratic reforms and hold free, fair and credible elections. If Mnangagwa rigs the elections the two people who will know how he rigged the elections would be Mugabe and Professor Jonathan Moyo. If they were to give the details then it would be impossible for Mnangagwa to get away with it.


    Just the possibility of Mugabe spilling the beans has forced everyone including SADC and the AU election observers to raise their game - they would not want to give Mnangagwa a thumbs up only for vote rigging details to come out and showing them to have lied!


    President Mnangagwa has stubbornly refused to implement any democratic reforms, proof he had no intention to hold free and fair elections. With Mugabe around, he knows exactly how the regime has been rigging elections, the risk of being exposed have never been this high!

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