"The upcoming elections are a once-in-a-generation chance for the
people of Zimbabwe to move forward after decades of autocratic rule,"
Senator Flake said. "The ZDERA Amendment Act reinforces that if the
Government of Zimbabwe is serious about bringing change to its people, starting
with free and fair elections, it will find a willing partner in the U.S."
"This legislation reflects our sincere hope that Zimbabwe makes a transition to a peaceful, democratic, just, and prosperous nation," Senator Coons said.
"A free, fair, and credible election is a necessary, but insufficient step to increased levels and areas of cooperation with the United States. Zimbabwe's leaders must also commit to a peaceful and constitutional transfer of power in order to reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people. We look forward to the fulfilment of the commitments President Mnangagwa has made to the people of Zimbabwe to pursue broader political and economic reform, and to a deeper partnership between the United States and Zimbabwe as sufficient progress is made on these necessary reforms."
"This legislation reflects our sincere hope that Zimbabwe makes a transition to a peaceful, democratic, just, and prosperous nation," Senator Coons said.
"A free, fair, and credible election is a necessary, but insufficient step to increased levels and areas of cooperation with the United States. Zimbabwe's leaders must also commit to a peaceful and constitutional transfer of power in order to reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people. We look forward to the fulfilment of the commitments President Mnangagwa has made to the people of Zimbabwe to pursue broader political and economic reform, and to a deeper partnership between the United States and Zimbabwe as sufficient progress is made on these necessary reforms."
Hallelujah! Amen! YES! YES! Yes, indeed, these “elections are a
once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Zimbabwe to move forward after
decades of autocratic rule!” And a chance the nation will be very foolish to
waste!
President Mnangagwa has been reminded 100 000 times and 100 000 times
again to implement the democratic reforms to ensure this year’s elections are
free and fair but would not listen. No one, in all honesty, can say these
elections are free and credible.
There is no free public media. ZEC has failed to register the targeted 7
million voters because there was no time to do so. But worse still, ZEC has
failed to produce a verified voters’ roll and it is impossible to pretend this
was not deliberate. Zanu PF has once again looted the nation’s coffers to
bankroll the party’s campaign and vote rigging schemes. One can go on and on!
The only positive in this year’s elections is that there has not been
any of the usual in-your-face politically motivated violence. The Police and
CIO have been unusually quite; they have not played their usual role of
harassing the opposition and turning a blind eye to Zanu PF thuggery. It is no
secret that most of the Police and CIO top brass supported Mugabe and hence the
reason there was a purge in the two organs following last November’s coup.
It seems President Mnangagwa has been forced to take his foot off the
violence pedal because the is not sure the Police and CIO would play along and
if they did they would not spill the beans. If Zanu PF was to get back into
power, the junta will spend the next five years “cleaning” the Police and CIO
of all Mugabe supporters. The bomb blast last Saturday was a timely reminder
the factional war in the party is not yet over.
There is no doubt that Zanu PF has imploded in the last five years and
is at its weakest; apply the right leverage and the party will be forced to
accept the need to implement the democratic reforms and the holding of free,
fair and credible elections.
President Mnangagwa has promised free, fair and credible elections to
soften the international community’s criticism of his illegitimacy following
November military coup. He has clearly failed to deliver free and fair
elections and the international community must declare these elections null and
void. President Mnangagwa and his junta must be left in no doubt, they must either
deliver free and fair elections or ship out!
President Mnangagwa and his junta friends have worked on the assumption that if they can make sure there is no in-your-face politically motivated violence they can use all the other vote rigging dirty tricks they want the world will ignore the latter and judge the elections free, fair and credible. All this talk of wanting a free public media, verified voters' roll, that Zanu PF must stop looting and using the looted billions of dollars to bankroll it campaign and vote rigging activities, etc. is coming as a complete shock to the junta. They really do not expect the international community to demand all that shit from them!
ReplyDeleteLast Saturday's bomb is bring the issue of political violence back into sharp focus. This is the one area the junta thought it could boast about but not any more. The very fact that the violence is within Zanu PF itself makes it only worse because it shows that Zanu PF is a party of thugs and President Mnangagwa not in control.
Worse still, if last November's coup was necessary to remove a dictator who rigged elections to stay in power the Saturday bomb too is necessary to remove another dictator who too is rigging these elections to stay in power. In other words the bomb has reminded everyone that these elections are not free, fair and credible.
President Mnangagwa must be wishing he had implemented the democratic reforms; he would not be looking so foolish pretending these are free and fair elections when even he cannot deny they are not. It is too late now to implement any reforms. With each paying day there is more and more evidence coming out to prove these elections are not free and fair.
President Mnangagwa is like a dog that has been messing around with a skunk, it can look as innocent as a lamb but the smell tell a different tale!
There is no doubt that many of the international election observers have already seen enough to know these are not free, fair and credible elections but they will not say so now. They will let President Mnangagwa hang himself, there is no doubt there is a lot more evidence that the elections are being rigged still to come.
@ Fortune Mlambo
ReplyDeleteThe biggest mistake people can make right now is participate in these flawed and illegal elections because the more people take part the more credible the process becomes. To complain that the elections were rigged when you knew all along the elections were being rigged is nonsensical. The nagging question is: why did you participate when you KNEW and had been warned thousands of times not to do so? The only logical reason you did not listen is because you thought you could win rigged elections. Now you have failed, do not complain!
Zimbabweans tried winning rigged elections in 2013 and failed, it is insane to try again!
The ruling Zanu-PF party is spending a fortune to retain power at the forthcoming polls, with millions of elusive hard currency having been spent on top-of-the-range vehicles, advertising and campaign material to oil its poll campaign that has probably broken all records in terms of its financing.
ReplyDeleteFor the second time, the Daily News can reveal that all Zanu-PF candidates aspiring for seats in the National Assembly will each be given an all-terrain vehicle and a montage of regalia for distribution to party supporters.
Hundreds of campaign vehicles are currently awaiting clearance at the country's borders, with the party's transport committee burning the midnight oil to ensure they reach their recipients in good time.
The National Assembly comprises 210 legislators and 80 senators.
Zanu-PF might have spent upwards of $60 million, assuming that each vehicle costs $40 000.
This is at a time when the country is struggling to meet critical payments for items such as drugs, fuel and machinery for industry due to foreign currency shortages.
There are so many other ways Zanu PF is rigging these elections, robbing the nation blind to bankroll its vote rigging and vote buying schemes is definitely one of these ways!
Professor Jonathan Moyo has described Emerson Mnangagwa as Mugabe's chief enforcer and that he was. Of all Mugabe's ministers there is no doubt that the tyrant has asked Mnangagwa to do most of his dirtiest jobs being it vote rigging, looting and the politically motivated acts of violence including the mass murders during Gukurahundi, the wanton violence of the 2008 elections,etc. Mnangagwa and his cabal became so proficient and power at the use of violence to achieve selfish political ends when Mugabe tried to fire the cabal they turned on him and forced him to resign in last November's military coup.
ReplyDeleteMnangagwa describing himself being "soft as wool, a nice guy!" Yeah right! Here is a the man whose hands are literally dripping the blood of the thousands of innocent Zimbabweans he has had murdered in cold blood to establish and retain the de facto one-party dictatorship we see in Zimbabwe today.
Mnangagwa justified the November coup on the grounds Mugabe was a tyrant who could not be removed from office by democratic means because he rigged elections. By failing to implement reforms and thus ensure there are free and fair elections he too could not be remove by democratic means and so why is he complaining about Saturday's bomb!
The Saturday bomb has reminded everyone how unstable Zimbabwe is! President Mnangagwa can claim others=wise but he is only fooling himself!
Nicknamed "the crocodile", Mr Mnangagwa has a reputation for being ruthless, but he told our correspondent: "I am as soft as wool. I am a very soft person in life, my brother. I'm a family person. I am a Christian."
ReplyDeleteProfessor Jonathan Moyo has described Emerson Mnangagwa as Mugabe's chief enforcer and that he was. Of all Mugabe's ministers there is no doubt that the tyrant has asked Mnangagwa to do most of his dirtiest jobs being it vote rigging, looting and the politically motivated acts of violence including the mass murders during Gukurahundi, the wanton violence of the 2008 elections, etc. Mnangagwa and his cabal became so proficient and power at the use of violence to achieve selfish political ends when Mugabe tried to fire the cabal they turned on him and forced him to resign in last November's military coup.
Mnangagwa describing himself being "soft as wool, a nice guy!" Yeah right! Here is a the man whose hands are literally dripping the blood of the thousands of innocent Zimbabweans he has had murdered in cold blood to establish and retain the de facto one-party dictatorship we see in Zimbabwe today.
Mnangagwa justified the November coup on the grounds Mugabe was a tyrant who could not be removed from office by democratic means because he rigged elections. By failing to implement reforms and thus ensure there are free and fair elections he too could not be remove by democratic means and so why is he complaining about Saturday's bomb!
The Saturday bomb has reminded everyone how unstable Zimbabwe is! President Mnangagwa can claim otherwise but he is only fooling himself! How can a nation that needs a coup, bomb or some such act of violence to change a president be considered stable!
After last November's military coup President Mnangagwa has been painfully aware that his regime is illegitimate and before anyone questioned it too closely he pre-empted it by promising to hold free, fair and credible elections. After risking life and limb to stage the coup, he and his cabal were not going to risk losing power by holding free and fair elections, especially when they had the opportunity to rig the vote.
ReplyDeleteThe junta gambled; it would go out of its way to make sure there was no politically motivated violence. However it will not implement even one reform and thus employ all the other nonviolent vote rigging tricks in the book. The Americans and a number of others' insistent demand for free public media, clean voters' roll has caught the regime off guard. The regime has been counting on the British's more laissez faire approach to prevail.
Saturday's bomb blast has been more than a threat to the lives President Mnangagwa, his junta friends and the public; it has brought back into sharp focus that Zanu PF is a party of thugs and the dog-eat-dog fighting is not over! Zimbabwe is not a stable nation, the threat of another coup or bomb is real and will never go away, as long as the dictatorship remains.
Marallas, you really like to talk a lot of nonsense. It is Mnangagwa and his junta who are the bullies; they have denied the people their freedoms and human rights including a meaningful vote and even the right to life. The regime has murdered over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans to establish and retain this de facto one-party dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteOrdinary Zimbabweans have been demanding democratic change, the regime has ignored them. The regime is up in arms against the Americans for calling for free and fair elections only because Zanu PF will never recognise ordinary Zimbabweans as humans. We are sick and tired of being ignored. We are humans and we demand free, fair and credible elections and refuse to discuss free and fair elections only in the narrow context of what the Americans have said!
Marallas, you really like to talk a lot of nonsense. It is Mnangagwa and his junta who are the bullies; they have denied the people their freedoms and human rights including a meaningful vote and even the right to life. The regime has murdered over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans to establish and retain this de facto one-party dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteOrdinary Zimbabweans have been demanding democratic change, the regime has ignored them. The regime is up in arms against the Americans for calling for free and fair elections only because Zanu PF will never recognise ordinary Zimbabweans as humans. We are sick and tired of being ignored. We are humans and we demand free, fair and credible elections and refuse to discuss free and fair elections only in the narrow context of what the Americans have said!