It is not so much Zanu PF thugs' cunning and ruthlessness that's keeping the regime in power but rather the ignorance and naivety of povo. W Mukori

 Zimbabwe is a failed and all because we have been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF regime for the last 44 years. The party has rigged elections and denied us, the people, a meaningful say in the governance of the country.

Zanu PF blatantly rigged the last year’s elections all because MDC/CCC leaders have failed to implement even one token democratic reform these last 24 years including the 2008 to 2013 GNU years when they had the golden opportunity to do so.  

It is not as if we, Zimbabweans, did not know that Zanu PF was going to rig the 2023 elections; we knew that and more. We knew that by participating in the flawed elections we would only give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy or “give the process credibility”, as David Coltart put. 

 “The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe. 

So if we knew the election process was “so flawed, so illegal, that thinly logical step was to withdraw” and that participating would give Zanu PF legitimacy; why then did nearly two million vote for Chamisa and at least as many, notably in the diaspora, cheered and applauded the participation?

Answer: Zimbabweans participated in their millions in the 2023 elections because thy BELIEVED Chamisa when he said he had “plugged all the Zanu PF vote rigging loop holes. #Godisinit!” 

Of course, he was lying as the SADC, AU and all the other Zimbabwe 2023 election observers confirmed in their reports.

 “The SEOM (SADC Election Observer Mission) noted that, as detailed in sections 6 and 7 of this report, some aspects of the Harmonised Elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021),” stated the SEOM report. 

Although SADC has accepted the damning SEOM report, the regional body has not denied Zanu PF political legitimacy as it did in 2008. No explanation has been offered as to why Zanu PF was let off the hook. There can be no doubt in my mind that the very fact that Zimbabweans had participated in the flawed elections in our millions must have weighted heavily in the regional body’s minds. 

If the majority of Zimbabweans participated in the flawed elections, knowing fully well the process was flawed, it is not for SADC or anyone else to declare out come null and void. SEOM noted the election process was flawed and said so; denying the out come political legitimacy could only be done if a very significant number of Zimbabweans themselves had denounce the process. 

Nelson Chamisa and company did complain of Zanu PF rigging the elections but only in these areas the opposition had lost. SADC judged the elections on the basis of the process and cherry picking the results. Besides, CCC had not only participated but conned the public to do the same claiming they had “plugged the vote rigging loop holes”. 

After 43 years of rigged elections and the country is a serious, serious, economic and political mess the pressure is palpable to end this double curse of rigged elections and bad governance. 

We need to implement the democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. Sadly, I do not see anything happening here. Zanu PF thugs will never win free, fair and credible elections no matter how incompetent and divided the opposition happened. And so thugs will never reform themselves out of office. The present CCC MPs and Senators will never force any meaningful reforms. The MDC leaders failed to implement even one token reform during the GNU it is naive to expect them to do so now. 

So, if plan A is to get reforms implemented before 2028 elections; it is dead in the water.

We cannot stop Zanu PF holding elections with no reforms implemented and we cannot stop Chamisa and company participating in the flawed elections. What we, the people, can do is refuse to participate. 

If Zimbabweans demanded the implementation of democratic reforms and make it abundantly clear they will never again be conned by Chamisa or anyone else into participating in flawed elections. 

If Zimbabweans had stubbornly refused to participate in last year’s elections, I am convinced SADC would have denied Zanu PF political legitimacy. The question then is: can ordinary Zimbabweans be persuaded to stop participating in the flawed elections? 

The honest answer to that has to be, it would be a a Herculean task, if it can be done at all. 

If it was reasons the people wanted to stop them participating that would be easy. 

Zanu PF thugs have rigged elections for the sake of retaining political power to feed their insatiable hunger for power, influence and looted wealth. 

MDC  leaders failed to implement even one token reform during the GNU because Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high offices and in return they forgot about implementing the reforms. And ever since the GNU debacle, MDC/CCC leaders have participated in flawed elections in search of the few gravy train seats Zanu PF dangled to entice the opposition to participate, as Coltart admitted in the quotation above. 

To get the share of the spoils of power the opposition must show they have political support from the people and bring them out to vote. The opposition’s countless claims to having winning in rigged elections strategies were to fool the people into believing the opposition can still win the elections no what how flawed and illegal to process got! The tragedy here is the people have been ignorant, naive and gullible enough to believe these opposition lies time and time again.

The people have been conned into participating in flawed elections believing they would get the regime change they were after only for Zanu PF to once again win and that they had giving the regime legitimacy and thus perpetuating their own suffering by participating. 

Of course, it is insane to participate in a flawed elections only to give Zanu PF legitimacy and perpetuating one’s own suffering. This argument has been made countless time and, so far at least, it has failed to stop the mob participating in the flawed elections in their millions. There is little evidence to make one believe people will listen to reason: the penny has dropped.

“Did Nelson Chamisa lie when he said he had plugged all the vote rigging loop holes?” I asked.

The response varied from stone-silence to hostile outrage directed at me for daring to ask. 

Of course, Chamisa lied, this is an established historic fact beyond debate but clearly not to many out there. They should be angry with Chamisa for conning them and landing them into this hell-on-earth. Not with me, what have I done other than ask an innocent question! The penny has not dropped. 

I will not be surprised if Chamisa or anyone else conned Zimbabweans in their millions to participate in the 2028 elections without even a toke reform implemented only to once again give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy and perpetuate the nation’s suffering. 

Stopping Zanu PF rigging rigging elections is proving to be mission impossible, after 44 years and counting of rigged elections, not so much because Zanu PF thugs are cunning and ruthless, that they are; but because the Zimbabwe voters are ignorant, naive and gullible and they have the vote. In their ignorance and naivety, Zimbabweans are the ones helping to keep Zanu PF in power and perpetuating their own suffering.

The tragedy is there is no off the shelf cure for ignorance and naivety; “take this twice daily for a month,” sort of thing. The cure is educating the masses, tough enough without the interference of both Zanu PF and CCC who each have an invested selfish interest in keeping the voters ignorant and naive.

So the possibility of Zimbabweans participating in flawed 2028 election in their millions is on the card!