Much has been said about the endless factional wars in the country’s main opposition MDC ever since the party’s launch in 1999. Zanu PF has suffered similar factional war with the booting out of the VP Joice Mujuru and her Gatamox faction in 2014. This was followed by the November 2017 military coup that forced Robert Mugabe to step down and many of the G40 leaders were lucky to get away with their lives.
Now there is talk of President Mnangagwa inviting both Gamatox and G40 members to rejoin Zanu PF. Why?
"The ruling party now feels it is in a strong position having essentially marginalised the opposition as a unified force, and hence it wishes to consolidate its position as the dominant political force in the country,” answered University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, Professor Stephen Chan.
"Reaching out to the G40 must not be misconstrued as an act of desperation, but one of confidence.
"What we see emerging is not just a dominant party state, but a hegemonic party state.
"The question is, however, for what does this hegemonic party stand? It seems sometimes like a gigantic patronage and enrichment network.
"However, this can still work if the oligarchic elite can ensure that economic benefits trickle down to those who are poor. A politically strong party in a fraying economy is in a difficult position.”
For once, Professor Chan is right, what good will come from having a strong party when the economy is in free fall! Mnangagwa has failed to revive the Zimbabwe economy and as long as the country remains a pariah state ruled by thugs there will be no meaningful economic recovery. The corona virus pandemic is set to drag the economy into even greater depths of poverty and despair.
Come 2023 elections, the voters will be concerned about their economic situation and will not care that Mnangagwa and his former G40 and Gamatox Zanu PF colleagues have kissed and made-up.
Many of the G40 and Gamatox members are as keen as mustard to rejoin Zanu PF to escape the economic hardships brought on by the economic meltdown. They will soon discover that Mnangagwa wanted their vote but has no jobs and/or looted wealth to give them. Nothing!
There is no denying there is total chaos and confusion in the MDC camp, the recalls of elected MDC A officials in the last year have left many members divided and bitter. MDC has imploded.
Still, if there were free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe; the people would rather vote for divided and confused opposition if only to be rid of the corrupt and oppressive Zanu PF. Mnangagwa knows that and hence the reason he will never ever implement the democratic reforms and hold free, fair and credible elections.
The dog-eat-dog fighting in the MDC has worked to Mnangagwa’s advantage in making the MDC weak to exploit Zanu PF’s weaknesses but the pendulum has swung too far; a weak MDC has lost political credibility.
In 2013 SADC leaders advised Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to participate in the elections until reforms were implemented. “If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done!” SADC leaders warned.
MDC leaders did not heed the warning. Zanu PF won the elections with a landslide. SADC leaders’ warning was equally valid in 2018, but again MDC leaders paid no heed and Zanu PF blatantly rigged the election again.
MDC leaders ignored the SADC leaders’ warnings because they were content with the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gave away as bait, they did not care that the elections were flawed and illegal. Zanu PF enticed MDC leaders to participate so the flawed process would have some credibility and the result have legitimacy for that Zanu PF did not mind sharing of the spoils of power with MDC leaders. A cosy win, win arrangement for both Zanu PF and MDC but one that has left people questioning the political credibility of MDC as the opposition.
A credible opposition parties should aim to win power, especially free and fair elections in 2023 are guaranteed to deliver and opposition landslide victory. MDC leaders are once again gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms. They are, once again, content to win the few gravy train seats.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies are used to having their cake and eat it too; they rigged the elections and bribed the MDC to participate to guarantee legitimacy. 2023 elections are set to be Zanu PF’s worst nightmare. If Zanu PF dares to implement the reforms and hold free, fair and credible elections; the party is certain to lose. The economy is in a real mess and the electorate will jump at the chance to finally get rid of the corrupt and tyrannical regime.
If Zanu PF does not implement any reforms and blatantly rig the elections only the opposition parties with no political credibility would participate in flawed elections for the now obvious reason of greed. Like it or not a now totally discredited opposition will never give the vote rigging Zanu PF any legitimacy.
For the first time in since independence; HEADS Zanu PF lose and TAIL the povo win!
MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa says the systematic attacks he and his party have received from the ruling Zanu-PF and state institutions since 2018 have instead hardened him and transformed him into a wiser politician.
ReplyDeleteYou say you are wiser and yet you still fail to see that your unconstitutional seizure of power following the death of Tsvangirai was the root cause of you down fall. You shoot yourself in the foot and still blame Zanu PF and others.
You have learned nothing, you are still the same naive, corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent Nelson Chamisa of yesteryear! You wish you were wiser and if wishes were horses beggars would ride!
Heads povo win and Tails Zanu PF lose! I totally agree with you, Zanu PF has worked itself into a tight corner.
ReplyDeleteMnangagwa has failed to revive the economy. His “Zimbabwe is open for business!” was dead in the water even as he announced in in January 2018 in Switzerland. Investors are a savvy and shrewd lot, they were not going to be fooled into believing the musical chairs game of removing of Mugabe and a few other thugs was enough to transform the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF into a competent democratic party.
The 2023 elections will therefore take place in the middle of a worsening economic meltdown and the Zimbabwean people will relish the chance to vote Zanu PF out of office; if Mnangagwa dared to hold free and fair elections.
Mnangagwa will not hold free and fair elections and will be counting on the usual suspect participating in the flawed elections to give him legitimacy. Sadly for him, the MDC has lost political credibility. What Winning In Rigged Elections (WIRE) strategies can anyone come up with now that can hide the real reason why the opposition keeps participating in flawed elections is greed?
Mnangagwa is caught between the rock and the deep blue sea, there is no escape! Zanu PF was always doom to fail as it was a party of corrupt and incompetent thugs who only care in the world was to feed their insatiable greed for power and wealth.
"A lot of our MPs and councilors are people who are looking for opportunities. In fact, I've learnt from what has happened that instead of having people coming across as change seekers, changer makers, change agents, they are actually job seekers," Chamisa told Cite journalist Zenzele Ndebele on his Breakfast Club, a current affairs programme.
ReplyDeleteThis is just nauseating nonsense. We are now being asked to believe that MDC A failed to win the majority in parliament because the party field job-seekers instead of change seekers.
Meanwhile Chamisa himself maintains he did not get the presidency because that election was “stolen”. He has conveniently forgotten that he had boasted that “MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!”
Chamisa and company are gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms in place. We are to believe the nonsense that MDC A will field change seekers and secure a landslide victory. Zanu PF can deny 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote, fail to produce a verified voters’ roll, spend billions of dollars bankrolling its vote rigging juggernaut and can even deploy all its thugs to harass, beat, rape and even murder innocent civilians; MDC A will still win a landslide victory!
The people of Zimbabwe must wake-up to the political reality that they have risked life and limb to elect Chamisa and his MDC friends into power for the sole purpose of delivering the democratic changes to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. After 21 years, 5 of which in the GNU, MDC has failed to implement even one reform. And to add insult to injury, MDC are now the ones giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF by participating in flawed elections.
It will be insane to participate in the coming elections without first demanding the implementing the reforms and thus guarantee free and fair elections. It will be insane to allow ourselves to be conned yet again by Chamisa’s foolishness.
MDC A lost the 2018 elections because Zanu PF rigged the elections and Chamisa's claim that "MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging elections!" was all hot air!
ReplyDeleteThe party is gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms under the pretext the party has new tactics to win rigged election.
Zimbabweans must reject this nonsense and go back to the basics of implementing the reform to ensure free, fair and credible elections. We must deal with this issue of rigged elections now and decisively!
"We have not shut the door for anyone interested in being part of the revolutionary train. The party just requires our deportees from the political oblivion to stand the test of loyalty and discipline to be welcome back to the mother party, Zanu-PF.
ReplyDelete"His Excellency President Mnangagwa who is the First The Secretary of the party has made it clear that Zanu-PF is too big, a pocket with the capacity to "pocket us" all as long as we are loyal to the creed of the struggle and it's a true meaning to our patriotic existentially. The door is wide open," said Dr Mpofu.
Sure thing and Mnangagwa and company passed the “test of loyalty and discipline” in November 2017 when the staged the military coup. They called is a “military assisted transition”! Judge George Chiweshe said the coup was “justified, legal and constitutional!” We all know that if it had failed the coup plotters would have been summarily shot for high treason.
Of course, staging the military coup was high treason and it is nonsense that all those involved looting, vote rigging and coup should ever pontificate about loyalty and discipline.