Anyone, anyone at all who has followed Zimbabwe’s checked political
history will find it very hard to understand the totally irrational behaviour
of our opposition politicians. After each election, the opposition politicians complained
bitterly about how Zanu PF blatantly rigged the vote and yet the same
politicians have time and time again taken part in the next elections only to
make the same complain again.
In 2008 SADC and AU, for once, agreed that the elections were not free,
fair and credible and SADC draw up a list of democratic reforms, everyone
agreed were necessary to ensure free and fair elections. The two MDC factions
led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara were party to the GNU
formed to implement the reforms.
Sadly, not even one reform was ever implemented in the five years of the
GNU. With no reforms in place, it was obvious Zanu PF will blatantly rig the
2013 elections and SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to
take part in the elections. Here is the big surprise, MDC leaders paid no heed
to the warning and contest the 2013 elections!
After being trounced in 2013, MDC politicians, led by Morgan Tsvangirai once
again complained that “Zanu PF stole the elections!”
Five years later, still with not even one reform in place, MDC
politicians are all queuing up to contest this year’s elections.
“Mr David Coltart has written to the principals of the MDC Alliance
requesting that he runs for senate elections instead of a parliamentary seat,”
reported Bulawayo 24
“Kwadzino rohwa matumbu, ndiko kwadzino mhanyira!” (Panic birds have
manic death wish, they will flock where they are being killed.)
No one is stopping you, Mr Coltart, from contesting these elections but,
after 38 years of rigged elections, please tell us: Are you taking part in these
elections because you believe enough have been done to ensure the whole process
is free, fair and credible?
If not, then why, oh why, are you contesting and dragging the nation
into yet another utterly meaningless process?
The only reason why Coltart and his opposition friends are taking part
in these flawed elections is because they are no longer interested in the
common cause of making sure elections are free, fair and credible – the pre-requisite
for democratic and accountable government the nation has been dying for – which
explains why MDC leaders failed to implement even one reform during the GNU.
They are now interested in the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gives away to
entice the opposition.
“The worst aspect for me about the
failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious –
withdraw from the elections,” admitted Mr Coltart in his recent book as to why
he and others contested the 2013 elections.
“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only
logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to
account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither
could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning
seats and giving the process credibility.”
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because for the
last 38 years the nation has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and
tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship which has blatantly rigged elections to stay in
power. The nation has had many “get out of jail cards” but MDC politicians, who
got the cards, have traded them to Zanu PF in return for the share of the
spoils of political power.
The people of Zimbabwe risked life and limb electing MDC leaders
into political office on the promise the party will implement democratic
changes. MDC has failed to bring about even one democratic change because they
sold-out, ever since the GNU days MDC leaders have been running with the hare
and hunting with the hounds!
The sooner the ordinary Zimbabweans finally realise MDC leaders
like Coltart are now sleeping with the enemy and cannot be trusted, the sooner
they can take back the fight for meaningful democratic change.
If Chamisa, Biti, Ncube, Coltart and all the other MDC leaders
care about stopping Zanu PF rigging these elections then the true purpose of
the MDC Alliance would have been to galvanize the opposition into boycotting
these elections until reforms are implemented. As things are, the MDC Alliance was
formed to improve MDC leaders like Coltart, Biti, etc. to improve their chances
of winning the few gravy train seats Zanu PF throws away.
No doubt Zanu PF will blatantly rig these elections and, right
on cue, the losing opposition candidates will complain of “Zanu PF stealing the
elections!” The international community will turn a deaf ear to the complains
since they have been warning this would happen. The real big losers are the
ordinary Zimbabweans whose lives are now a hell-on-earth because the country
has failed to break this madness of rigged elections!
These elections should not be taking place, not without first
implementing the reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. Politicians
like Coltart know these elections are being rigged as we speak but do not care
as long as they win the few scraps on offer.
The only desirable outcome is for these flawed elections to be
declared null and void. We, the people, must pressure the international
election observers, especially SADC and the AU, make sure President Mnangagwa
is forced to step aside if he fails to deliver on his promise to hold free, fair
and credible elections.
Nelson Chamisa, David Coltart and the rest of the MDC leaders know these elections are being rigged and yet they still insist in taking part because of greed, as Coltart readily admitted. They have the common sense to know they cannot admit to the world they are greedy and do not care that elections are rigged. Coltart only admitted that in a book because the narrative demanded it. He has never ever repeated the admission in public. Never!
ReplyDeleteMDC Alliance have come up with all manner of feeble excuses why they are participating in flawed elections ranging from "We will win the rigged elections!" It is a stupid answer because it begs the follow up question: but why do it when we could have this problem sorted once and once for all? Then there is the even more pressing question: What if you do not win? As we all know that was exactly what happened in 2013!
MDC leaders have been forced to settle for the more commonly used excuse of: "We are not boycotting these elections because we are going to force Zanu PF to implement the reforms BEFORE the election, come rain come sunshine!" The demonstration last week was to underline they still have confidence in their strategy and they even restated they demands and called them "red lines"! They have failed to get any reforms implemented in the last 9 years 10 months even when they had the power to do so during the GNU. Now they think they can get Zanu PF to implement the reforms in these remaining two months!
In four days time, it will be the MDC leaders themselves who will be crossing the "red lines" to submit their nomination papers knowing fully well that they cannot boycott the elections after that and that not even one of their demands have been addressed.
The international elections observers are only now beginning to realised why SADC had advised that the elections must not go ahead without reforms and they are making their voices heard. Of course, they can see clear through the MDC leaders' smokes and mirror feeble excuse; they can see that it is greed that is making MDC leaders contest these flawed elections.
MDC leaders lost all political credibility when they failed to get even one reform implemented during the GNU. No one should therefore be surprised they are crossing they own red lines to participate in these elections; they have long sold their very souls to the devil they may just as well take their place and have dinner with the devil, they have nothing to lose!
Last week Americans election observers and EU Ambassador Philippe Van Damme have each called for reforms to be implemented, they know no reforms can be implemented now; they are only piling up the pressure on Zanu PF, reminding President Mnangagwa that without reforms these elections are a sham! They are also piling up the pressure on our sell-out opposition politicians, daring them to cross their own red lines!
@ Elkan Mncube
ReplyDelete"You can't just shout without a solution what is your suggestion and what do you think the mdc must do boycott election and wait for another 5yrs to boycott it again you are not serious," you said.
You are asking for a solution but that is only because you cannot accept the solution offered to you. If the election process is so flawed and illegal what is the point in taking part in it, especially if do so is only helping to give the process credibility and thus perpetuate it!
"The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility," David Coltart explained.
The only reason Coltart and friends contested the flawed 2013 elections and are doing the same again this year is greed. They are after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gives away as bait. What do you think you and the millions of other ordinary Zimbabweans out there hope to get out of this?
Even you must admit that the ordinary Zimbabwean gained nothing, absolute nothing from taking part in the rigged 2013 elections. Zanu PF rigged the elections and retained to power only to fight amongst themselves whilst the country sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss.
Just to rub the hot chilli into the people's eyes, Mugabe never tired of claiming the elections were free, fair and credible and he has the people's mandate to rule. President Mnangagwa has refused to implement even one reform and he too is blatantly rigging these elections and he too is claiming the elections are free, fair and credible.
Indeed, President Mnangagwa is going one step further and evoking God Almighty in his vote rigging shenanigans.
"It (Zanu PF party ideology) also believes in putting people at the centre of governance for inclusive value adding decision making as was amply demonstrated during the historic and successful Operation Restore Legacy where the driving force was popularised motto "Vox Populi, Vox Dei" (The Voice of the People is the Voice of God)," states the party's 2018 manifesto.
So, President Mnangagwa is blatantly rigging these elections and has the chutzpah to claim it the Voice of God!
People like you Elkan are locked up in this believe that by participating in these elections, regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets, you are helping bring about change. What you cannot see is the corollary; why should Zanu PF implement any reforms if you are going to participate regardless, especially when they stand to lose so much if they did! Zanu PF has the best of this situation; they rig the elections and retain power and, because you participated, they can also claim to have the people's mandate.
You cannot stop Zanu PF rigging the elections but can stop participating. It is so logical but clearly not to all of us! Common sense is not so common, especially in a country like Zimbabwe where the people have been brainwashed first by Zanu PF propaganda and now by MDC nonsense!
@ Noble Ngara
ReplyDelete"Coltart is a man who confessed to the heinous crime of stuffing the bodies of dead comrades down a mineshaft. presumably to hide the even more heinous crime of murder. 38 yrs after independence finding such a person still dabbling in politics of Zim is as shocking as finding a shark on top of a mountain----or finding a hyena sniffing at the goat kraal in broad daylight (rakacheka nyika) in a populated village----chisionekwi mudzi webwe---shura padunhu!"
What Coltart and the oppressive white colonialists did before independence has been roundly condemned and rightly so too. What President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF thugs have done since independence, the gross mismanagement, rampant corruption, vote rigging and the brutal mass murders to impose this de facto one-party state has been roundly condemned and rightly so too.
What everyone with half a brain find repulsive with you, Ngara, is hypocritical and phony outrage. You are outrage that Coltart is "dabbling in political" after his "heinous crime of stuffing the bodies of dead comrades down a mineshaft." And yet President Mnangagwa, VP Chiwenga, Perrence Shiri, etc. have too committed heinous crimes of mass murders of innocent and defenceless civilians; you have not only failed to question their dabbling in politics but have campaigned for them to remain in power!
David Coltart should not be dabbling in Zimbabwe politics today because he and his MDC friends sold-out during the GNU by failing to implement the reforms and they involvement now is only making the situation worse because they are providing Zanu PF the smoke screen to rig elections. By the same token President Mnangagwa and his junta should not be dabbling in politics because for the last 38 years, they have ridden roughshod over the people's freedoms and human rights and are doing the same this year.
Both Coltart and Mnangagwa's murderous past may well have a bearing on way they have betrayed the nation again and again in the recent past. If you are going to disqualify Coltart from being involved in politics on account of his distant past then do the same with Mnangagwa or else shut up!