The A1 problem in
Zimbabwe is the failure to hold free, fair and credible elections which is why
the nation has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF
regime for 42 years with the tragic economic and political consequences we can
see. It has taken decades to understanding the link between rigged elections
and bad governance but thank God, the penny has drop!
Zanu PF is rigging
these by-elections and, even more significantly, is rigging the upcoming 2023
harmonised elections. By participating in these flawed elections MDC/CCC are
giving the process some modicum of credibility and thus giving the results
legitimacy and thus help perpetuate the Zanu PF dictatorship.
The A1 question
Nelson Chamisa and his CCC friends must answer without any equivocation is “How
are you stopping Zanu PF rigging the elections?”
The failure to
answer the question will lead to one equally clear-cut course of action: do not
participate in the flawed elections. Participating in the flawed elections to
give Zanu PF legitimacy is insane, especially after 42 years of rigged
elections.
This is not the
first time MDC/CCC leaders have been told it is insane to participate in flawed
elections; SADC leaders told them to their faces in June 2013.
“In 2013 the Maputo
Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about
having the elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there,” Dr Ibbo
Mandaza, Director of SAPES, told Journalist Violet Gonda.
“I was there at the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of
the elections. If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform
at least electoral laws.
“And after that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of
them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the
absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there
outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told ‘if you go into elections
next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done’.”
Of course, Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends knew that Zanu PF was rigging
the elections and that boycotting the elections was the only rational thing to
do. Tsvangirai and company ignored the SADC leaders’ advice and participated in
the 2013 elections because of greed, as David Coltart, himself an MDC Minister
in the 2008 to 2013 GNU and senior member of CCC, confessed.
“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) elections,” wrote
Senator Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of
Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
“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.”
If the failure to
form a coalition in 2013 was the excuse for participating then MDC should have
boycotted the 2018 elections because four of the main MDC factions did form a
coalition, MDC Alliance (MDC A). Greed got the better of them and they
participated in the elections even when it was clear ZEC had failed to produce
something as basic a verified voters’ roll!
“MDC A has
stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” boasted Nelson
Chamisa, the MDC A Presidential candidate, dismissing call to boycott the 2018
elections. It was all just hot air, of course; the only way to stop Zanu PF rigging
the elections was by implementing the reforms before holding the elections.
David Coltart’s
half-hearted confession that greed was stopping MDC/CCC doing the obvious thing
and stop participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy is the
nearest to a mea culpa of MDC sold out by failing to implement even one reform
during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and are selling out by participating in flawed elections.
The overwhelming
majority of ordinary Zimbabweans had no clue the 2008 to 2013 GNU was first and
foremost about implementing the democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging the
elections and hence the reason the nation failed to even register MDC leaders’
blatant betrayal in failing to implement even one reform.
Very few
Zimbabweans even heard about the SADC leaders ‘If you go into elections next
month, you are going to lose; the elections are done!’ ultimatum to MDC leaders
much less understand the consequences of disregarding it.
Time and the tragic
suffering brought on by the country sinking deeper and deeper into economic and
political despair has forced many Zimbabweans to sit up and listen. Time and
suffering are the best cure for ignorance.
In the late 1990s,
the people of Zimbabwe finally realised that as long as Zanu PF enjoyed the
carte blanche powers to rig elections and remained in power the country’s
relentless march into economic ruin and political paralysis was unstoppable. They
have risked life and limb to elect Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends of the
understanding the party would deliver the democratic changes the nation was
dying for.
After 22 years, 5
of which in the GNU, MDC leaders have failed to bring about even one democratic
change. What is clear is Tsvangirai and company had no clue what the changes
were much less how they would be implemented. None!
And so, with the
country sinking deeper and deeper into the economic and political abyss the
ordinary Zimbabweans have been forced to put the meat on the bone. It is not
just democratic change the nation wants but more specifically democratic change
to stop Zanu PF rigging elections!
Tomorrow, Sunday 20th
February 2022, Nelson Chamisa must either announce a credible plan to stop Zanu
PF rigging elections or confirm that CCC will not be participating in any more
of these flawed and illegal elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy. After 42
years of rigged elections enough is enough of this greed and insanity!
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has suspended an unspecified number of officials on allegations of leaking a copy of the national voters' roll and sharing the "tampered" document with an unnamed stakeholder "so as to suit that stakeholder's narrative".
ReplyDeleteAddressing journalists in Harare yesterday after independent election watchdogs had poked holes on the roll and exposed serious anomalies, Zec acting chief elections officer (CEO) Jane Pamhidzirai Chigidji claimed the document was obtained without following procedures and was heavily tampered with to discredit the country's electoral processes.
"As a result of that incident, the commission has suspended some officials involved in the production of the voters' rolls while investigations are being carried out to establish the circumstances under which the alleged ‘2020 voters' roll' was issued without following proper procedure and without the authority or knowledge of the CEO. The commission views the matter seriously and urges all stakeholders to adopt a professional approach when dealing with it," Chigidji said.
ZEC does not deny the voters’ roll was tampered with and it is clearly ZEC staff who did that and the ZEC staff were suspended for issuing the voters’ roll and not for tampering with the roll. It is important to note that ZEC has never ever produced a verified voters’ roll.
The voters’ roll being used for the by-election should be based on the verified voters’ roll used for the 2018 elections plus a few added modifications. There was no verified voters’ roll issued in 2018. None!
Part 1 of 2
ReplyDelete@ ZEC Statement
“Further, its mandate is provided for in terms of the Constitution and the electoral law of the country. It is very much alive to the requirements of operating in within the confines of the law and to the consequences of failure to adhere to same. It is a member of regional international bodies that perform the same functions as it and which organisations require adherence to set standards. It has over the years religiously followed these standards including the SADC guidelines and principles governing the conduct of elections to the extent of entrenching them in the law thus can actually boast that it is one of those institutions that have made significant progress in applying same.
The Commission has now come to the conclusion that there are some stakeholders who have resolved to adopt a strategy of soiling its credibility to account for their electoral loss or losses to the electorate. In the past, some have openly confessed to the Commission that they cannot always tell their constituents the truth for fear of losing their support. Thus they have to find a scapegoat and that scapegoat is the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. However, lies have no legs and chickens will always come back home to roost.
Further, the Commission has always told its stakeholders that their false allegations of vote rigging contribute to voter apathy and to loss of confidence in the electoral processes by the electorate. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is glad to note that some have since seen the light and are now encouraging their supporters to participate in electoral processes run by ZEC, ironically the same institution they allege to be responsible for stealing their votes. question as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is what has changed now?
The Commission wishes to reiterate to all well-meaning Zimbabweans that the systems used in conducting elections are world class and there is no room for tempering with their votes. To those who know elections, the polling station based voting system and use of biometric technology such as the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) cannot be faltered as these are specifically designed to guard against any form of vote rigging.
I challenge all Zimbabwean citizens, the next time they come across a person alleging that there is vote rigging in Zimbabwe to invoke the legal maxim "he who alleges must prove". If surely there is vote rigging in Zimbabwe, someone must be able to prove it. At least that person should be able to trace the incident of vote rigging and link it to a particular location, polling station or collation centre and be able to tell the time the incident occurred.
Further, that person must be able to be prove how many votes have been stolen or miscounted, and who has been prejudiced among other things. It is high time Zimbabweans should refuse to be abused and to disabuse themselves of thinking that elections are rigged in this country. That is a myth and a fallacy and the Commission challenges anyone to prove it otherwise. All the allegations that have been made against the Commission on vote rigging, are mere bare allegations not supported by fact, no figures, no location or names of people prejudiced.
Part 2 of 2
ReplyDelete@ ZEC Statement
Even where courts are roped in to establish any wrongfulness on its part and the Commission is absolved, false political narratives continue to be generated simply to satisfy the ego of its detractors. The allegations are mere political statements meant to hoodwink voters for the selfish gain of politicians who believe only a result in their favour should come out of the ballot.
This is despite the fact that there are always accredited observers and party agents present at polling stations and collation centres to observe electoral processes. So the next time when you have a person alleging vote rigging by the Commission, ask them where, which candidate, how many votes and how did that happen? The Commission assures you that you will not get an answer to these questions.
Many of the flaws and illegalities in the conduct of ZEC would never occur in the commission produced a verified voters’ roll as is required by the law, who would want to have their errors and/or blatant cheating exposed. The failure to produce a verified voters’ roll, lack of transparency in the voting process, etc. have encouraged the errors and blatant cheating.
By participating in flawed elections, so flawed there is not even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, the opposition have sold out big time. Why would Zanu/ZEC bother producing the verified voters’ roll and risk losing the elections when they know MDC/CCC and company will participated and give Zanu PF legitimacy guaranteed.
Indeed, the likes of MDC/CCC leaders cannot complain about the failure to implement reforms because they had the opportunity to implement the reforms themselves and failed to implement even one! Not even one!
By definition, a con artist is a manipulator who cheats, or tricks, others through persuading them to believe something that is not true. Through deception, they fool people into believing they can make easy money when, in fact, it is the con artist who ends up taking the victim’s money.
ReplyDeleteName of the Game
The confidence game, as scam artistry is called, is one of the oldest tricks in the trade. It exploits people’s trust. Human nature is on the side of these masters of fraud when it comes to defrauding their marks, or victims, and contributes to the con’s enduring success. Perpetrators have been referred to everything from flimflam operators, hustlers, grifters, and tricksters. The victims have been called marks, suckers, and gulls. And while media publicity has further romanticized cons and put their crimes in the public eye, their actions are anything but glamorous.
Even further, the cost of the capers to victims may run anywhere from a couple hundred to a few million dollars, with some victims learning the hard way, using their own free will, that when an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.
After 42 years of rigged elections and the country in serious trouble, one would think every Zimbabwean out there would be demanding that all the democratic reforms must be implemented to guarantee free, fair and credible elections and cut out all this nonsense of “winning in rigged elections!” The economic desperation have only heightened their vulnerability to Zimbabwe’s master conmen and con-women – our politicians.
Ever since the GNU debacle Zanu PF and MDC/CCC politicians have been working as a team to fleece the ordinary Zimbabweans!
The number one act was to convince the masses that the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country is not exactly a right but more a privilege. Zanu PF thugs have the right to rig the elections, hence the reason why MDC/CCC leaders have not implemented even one reform to undermine that right. Chamisa have done the next best thing – devised “winning in rigged elections strategies!”
The second act was for both Zanu PF and MDC leaders to ensure whatever happens that the ordinary people are encouraged to always believe they can get the political change they are after without dismantling the present system.
Ever since the GNU Zanu PF and CCC have shared the spoils of powers with the former getting 2/3 majority and the presidency and the later getting the rest. In public Zanu PF and MDC have fought fiercely leaving the public in no doubt the latter are fighting in their corner. The two are thriving whilst the masses are sinking deeper and deeper into abject poverty. The two are like cats the growling does not always mean they were fighting as the arrival of kittens will prove!
Chamisa is hell bent on participating in these flawed elections. I believe by this time next year even more people will know this is a con to give Zanu PF legitimacy, they will be demanding reforms or boycotting the elections.
CCC will lose political credibility and with it Zanu PF will lose legitimacy!
IN a scandal which fuels fears elections are usually rigged in Zimbabwe and which further damages the image of the already discredited Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), the elections body, run by sympathisers of the ruling Zanu-PF and state security agents, has suspended its officers for handing over the voters' roll to the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
ReplyDeleteThe voters' roll was requested for by CCC deputy secretary for elections Ellen Shiri who complied with all formal procedures and then used for analysis by advocacy group Pachedu which unearthed irregularities on voters registration and polling stations.
The irregularities included new polling stations and changing of some of them without the knowledge of voters.
This came as Zec defended the use of the state security agency, Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), in accreditation of election observers and voter registration, saying the law allows it to do so.
Zanu PF is rigging these elections, Chamisa and company know this and, worse still, they know that by participating they are giving Zanu PF legitimacy. Ever since the 2008 to 2013 GNU debacle Zanu PF learned that given the right inducement MDC leaders would not implement any of the democratic reforms. Zanu PF is offering a few gravy train seats to entice MDC/CCC leaders to participate in these flawed elections and that has clearly worked.
Armed police arrests Chamisa’s supporters in Masvingo
ReplyDelete19 February 2022
Wezhira Munya
Armed riot police with guns and police dogs arrested Mr Chitando, councillor Musekiwa, Mr Aleck Tabe and 76 members of Citizens for Coalition Change in Masvingo today.
Police were under the command of Mrs Chipfakasha.
Zanu PF is a party of violence and it will turn up the volume to match the level of political threat. If we are serious about ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance then we must demand the implementation of reforms before elections. The idea of "winning rigged elections" is per se a ideological oxymoron especially after 42 years of rigged elections!
Zanu PF is rigging these elections. The people are desperate for change and are trying hard to find ways to remove the regime peaceful.
ReplyDeleteWhat the people have failed to realise is that Nelson Chamisa and company know that Zanu PF is rigging the elections and they are playing along to give the process credibility and the result legitimacy provided Zanu PF allows some of the MDC/CCC leaders a few gravy train seats. It was for this reason MDC leaders did not implement even one reform during the GNU.
The people do not that MDC/CCC has sold out by failing to implement even one reform in the last 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU. Worse still, they don’t know that by being con by MDC/CCC to participate in these flawed elections they are helping perpetuate the very regime they are desperate to remove from office. Ignorance is one of the worst curses to afflict mortals, especially when it is self-inflicted!
It is shocking just how many Zimbabweans out there have no clue, even now with the benefit of hindsight, the 2008 to 2013 GNU was about implementing the democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging elections, for example. It is self-inflicted because to know it is not rocket science!
@ L Bishop
ReplyDelete“Elections always unfailingly produce rare and curious political creatures and species.
You might think you have seen it all only for another election cycle to remind you that you ain't seen nothing yet.
I guess that is the reason they call election cycles the silly season of politics.
Some politicians will stop at nothing and stoop embarrassingly low just to clinch that ticket for political office.
During campaigns, they will obsequiously accost you in the streets, visit your home, tell you sweet nothings and even go to the unimaginable length of kissing your dogs or your kids to worm themselves into your good graces.
But, once elected, their aides will not allow you within a shouting distance of the monster cars they will be driving as creature comforts of their new office.”
Zanu PF is rigging these elections. The people are desperate for change and are trying hard to find ways to remove the regime peaceful.
What the people have failed to realise is that Nelson Chamisa and company know that Zanu PF is rigging the elections and they are playing along to give the process credibility and the result legitimacy provided Zanu PF allows some of the MDC/CCC leaders a few gravy train seats. It was for this reason MDC leaders did not implement even one reform during the GNU.
The people do not that MDC/CCC has sold out by failing to implement even one reform in the last 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU. Worse still, they don’t know that by being con by MDC/CCC to participate in these flawed elections they are helping perpetuate the very regime they are desperate to remove from office. Ignorance is one of the worst curses to afflict mortals, especially when it is self-inflicted!
It is shocking just how many Zimbabweans out there have no clue, even now with the benefit of hindsight, the 2008 to 2013 GNU was about implementing the democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging elections, for example. It is self-inflicted because to know it is not rocket science!
VICE-President Constantino Chiwenga yesterday threatened black market money traders with long jail terms and declared that the country will not redollarise despite a sharp weakening of the Zimdollar.
ReplyDeleteAddressing a Zanu-PF rally in Marondera yesterday where most attendees were bussed to the venue, Chiwenga said black market trade was fuelling spikes in prices of basic goods and services.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa failed to attend the rally at Marondera's Rudhaka Stadium despite being advertised as the star of the rally.
More than 100 buses were used to transport supporters to Marondera, despite the police barring the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party from doing the same at its Highfield rally which took place yesterday as well.
This is a regime that has no clue how to revive the economy but will never admit that. It prefers to find scapegoats for its failures; deny teachers and nurses a living wage to contain inflation and is now blaming money traders for why the Zimbabwe dollar is losing value!
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt and incompetent thugs who have rigged the elections to stay in power. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state it is naïve to expect any meaningful economic recovery.