In his Book, The Struggle
Continues 50 years of tyranny in Zimbabwe, former MDC – Ncube
Senator and Minister of Education in the GNU, David Coltart, explained why
Zimbabwe’s opposition parties have continued to participate in national
elections even when they KNEW the election process was flawed, illegal and Zanu
PF will rig the elections. Greedy!
“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 (2013),” explained Senator Coltart.
“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.”
Most of the MDC factions did come
together to form a coalition, the MDC Alliance, before the 2018 elections and
yet they all participated in the elections. Not even one of them raised the
need to boycott the elections even though it was certain Zanu PF will once
again rig the elections. Even when ZEC had once again failed to produce
something as basic as a verified voters’ roll; still the opposition parties and
candidates participated in the flawed and illegal elections.
The opposition candidates did not
care that the election process was flawed and illegitimate and that all
election observers have rightly condemned the elections.
“The final results as announced by
the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate
traceability, transparency and verifiability. Finally, the restrictions on
political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of
human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive
aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018
elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards,” said the EU
Zimbabwe Election Observer Mission in its final report.
The opposition candidates and parties
did not care that Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections as long as
they got a shot at winning the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was giving away. All
because of greed!
It is little wonder that all the
opposition candidates and parties who participated in last year’s flawed and
illegal elections have all accept the election results as legitimate. Having
participated in the elections knowing there was no voters, no free public
media, etc. it would be hypocritical to then complain of the same after the
elections.
Chamisa has accepted the
parliamentary results but is disputing ZEC’s vote count for the presidential
race. Chamisa claims he garnered more votes than Mnangagwa. A dubious claim
given vote counting was one of the many flaws and illegalities in the process
and he failed to produce the documents to verify his vote count.
Being greedy is one thing but pretending
the elections were free, fair and credible to an increasingly sceptical world
is proving to be a real challenge for the opposition.
“I
know the argument made by those supporting the sanctions that we have not made
sufficient democratic progress. We accept that there are things that we still
have to do to improve our political and democratic process. But a democratic
project is a long term project,” explained Professor Lovemore Madhuku, one of
the participating presidential candidates.
“What
we are saying is that the outside world must allow us to move in as much as we
can to improve our economic, political and social space without the sanctions
that are crippling us.
“We
are in the dialogue for the purpose of contributing our voice to the lifting of
sanctions.”
The
failure to produce something as basic as a voters’ roll, denying 3 million
Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote, making there was no free public media,
etc.; these were all deliberate and calculated flaws and illegalities implemented
for the sole purpose of rigging the elections and keep Zanu PF in power.
Professor Madhuku knew this as did all the other opposition candidates and
still the participated for selfish gain.
Mnangagwa
promised to hold free, fair and credible elections after taking over from
Mugabe but failed to keep his promise because he and his fellow Zanu PF thugs
were not willing to give up absolute power afforded them by the de facto
one-party dictatorship. It is nonsense to argue he did not honour his promise
because Zimbabwe’s “democratic process” has not yet reached the point where we
can hold free, fair and credible elections.
Zimbabwe’s
first multi-racial elections in 1980 should have been free, fair and credible.
They were not because Zanu PF had operatives on the ground who told rural
voters that if the party did not win the elections the civil war would
continue. Lawlessness and wanton violence
by the ruling elite to establish and maintain their dictatorial strangle hold
on power have remained an ever present danger in Zimbabwe for the last 39 years.
The
country is in this economic and political mess precisely because for 39 years
we nation was stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime. The
country’s economic recovery is dependent on the nation end this curse of rigged
elections. We do not need the lawlessness and wanton violence no more than a
family need a cobra and black mamba living with them in the house.
Of
course, holding free, fair and credible elections is an event and not a
process; implement the democratic reforms to end the lawlessness and violence
and the country will have free, fair and credible elections.
After
39 years of denying the ordinary Zimbabweans the basic freedoms and rights including
the right to a meaningful vote and with the nation in a real economic mess and
millions living in abject poverty as a consequence we must now focus on
restoring the people’s freedoms and rights as a matter of urgency.
It
is unforgivable that there are those in Zanu PF who continue to resist change.
It is very disappointing that the Zanu PF thugs are receiving political support
from opposition parties pretending they are fighting for the common people when
they are not.
If
MDC leaders had implemented the reforms during the 2008 GNU the nation would
have free, fair and credible elections in 2013 and got rid of the Zanu PF
dictatorship. They failed to implement even one reform in five years because
they sold-out.
If the opposition had
boycotted the flawed band illegal 2013 or 2018 elections and thus starved Zanu
PF of even the modicum of political credibility forcing the illegitimate Zanu
PF regime would be a piece of cake. Opposition leaders like Madhuku are
propping up this illegitimate Zanu PF dictatorship and extending its stay in
power at great expense of the people who are suffering. Madhuku et al are doing this out of selfish
greed. Stop it! For heaven’s sake stop it!
People must never forget who Professor Lovemore Madhuku is! He is the leader of the National Constitution Assembly (NCA) an activist organisation formed to push for constitutional reforms in the late 1990s that has since morphed into a political party. NCA was formed together with Tsvangirai and many others who went on to form the MDC, Madhuku and a few others remained in NCA for whatever reasons.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that Madhuku has seen how MDC leaders have done well for themselves by abandoning the common cause of pushing for democratic changes especially during the 2008 to 2013 GNU when MDC leaders were in power. MDC leaders like Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, Nelson Chamisa, David Coltart, etc. sold-out during the GNU by failing to get even one reform implemented. They had their snout in the feeding trough provided by uncle Bob (Mugabe) and the feeding was good.
What is more the MDC leaders sold-out and got away with it, at least as far as the ordinary Zimbabweans are concerned. The MDC wildebeest members have remained faithful to the party blissfully unaware the leaders sold-out.
So MDC leaders themselves have since abandoned an pretence they will ever implemented the democratic reforms as the settled for the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was giving away as bait to entice they continued cooperation in forgetting about reforms and free and fair elections. Other opposition parties and candidates, including Madhuku and his NCA, have joined in the scramble for the bait seats!
Of course, Madhuku knows Mnangagwa and Zanu PF rigged last year's elections and have do so for the last 39 years. He knows the country should and could have had free, fair and credible elections ever since the 1980 elections; we did not because there was no political will on the party of Zanu PF and all the opposition parties. He knows that he and the other opposition candidates participated in the flawed and illegal elections last year and in the past out of greed.
Madhuku also knows, as Nelson Chamisa and the rest, that by participating the opposition is giving the modicum of political credibility to the rigged elections.
What Madhuku, Chamisa, Biti and the rest of the opposition sell-outs do not know is that the game is up. opposition leaders who sold-out will be held to account!
@ Benford Mafuvad
ReplyDelete“Is this not ironical that you write an article and then you are the first to commend on it?”
Poor Benford it must be a curse being you. Why are you obsessed about the trivial matters and ignore the substantive matters. You are making a mountain out of a mole hill that I commended on what I said. So what is wrong or “ironic” with me adding, subtract or whatever to what I said earlier?
You are supposed to commend on the substantive issues I raised and not waste time and space going to town of the spelling, gramma, who commended, etc., etc. How many times have I told you that but yet you still fail to understand.
The real tragedy here Bebford is that you are not the only Zimbabwean who is brain-dead and hence the reason the country is in this mess. The country is facing serious economic meltdown, millions are living in abject poverty and hundreds are dying unnecessarily of want of the most basic needs such as clean water, US$4 per month medicine, etc.
We need to focus on finding a way out of this mess and all you care about is how many times some one has commended! Well I despair, I do! Still, it must be hard being so shallow, thick and slow.