Tsvangirai renews Mugabe's vote-rigging licence and ask povo "to defend their vote". W Mukori

If anyone still (after his pathetic GNU record when he failed to get even one democratic reform implemented) has any doubts that Tsvangirai is completely useless and will never ever bring about any democratic change in Zimbabwe; they must listen to the interview he gave to VOA Studio 7. Go to http://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/3729530.html.

“People have expressed their concerns about the governance issues that have led to the collapse of the social and economic situation in the country and about the future,” he told VOA. He went on to enumerate some of these problems the people are concerned about:

·      The level of political intimidation and fear especial by the traditional local leaders at the instigation Zanu PF.

·      People are concerned at the potential for rigging the vote by corrupting the voters roll. They wanted to know how the new Biometric Voting System (BVS) would stop the tampering with the voters roll.

·      The independence of ZEC, people believe most of the commissioners are Zanu PF operatives. affecting the upcoming national elections.

·      The active political involvement on the side of Zanu PF by security sector personnel during elections.

·      People were concerned the elections will not be free, fair and credible. Etc., etc.

“We encouraged people to register to vote, go and vote and to defend their vote!” continued Tsvangirai.

“The monitoring of elections is critical. We assure them (the people) that the UN is involved through the purchase of BVS. They will also be equally concerned that the elections are free and fair.”

 Tsvangirai was speaking to the press at the end of his country wide “Meet The People Tour.”

The tragedy here is Tsvangirai was nothing more than an echo chamber. The people did not say anything we did not already know, Mugabe’s vote rigging goes back to the first post-independence elections in 1980 and has got progressively worse with time as the country’s economy has continued to sink like a stone and with it the tyrant’s popularity. What the people wanted are answers to stop Mugabe’s vote rigging juggernaut and, sadly, only they ever got from Tsvangirai is an echo chamber repeating back to them their concerns without even one solution.

We already know the solution to stopping Zanu PF rigging elections is for the nation to implement the democratic reforms designed to end the dictatorship’s undemocratic control of the traditional leaders, ZEC, Police, etc. If Morgan Tsvangirai did not understand what is it MDC had to do; SADC had this spelt out for him in the 2008 GPA. All MDC leaders had to do was implement the democratic reforms.

After five years of the GNU, MDC failed to get even one single reform implemented. Not one!

Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the 2013 elections because none of the reforms were implemented.

After the July 2013 rigged elections, MDC leaders promised the people of Zimbabwe that they will implement the reforms and vowed not to contest any future elections until reforms are implemented. Tsvangirai himself announced MDC-T’s “No reform, no election!” 2014 party congress resolution with the usual fan fair.

Douglas Mwonzora, MDC Secretary General, acknowledged that less than 5% of the reforms the party has been calling for have been implemented since the rigged July 2013 elections. Without the reforms Zanu PF will once again blatantly rig the 2018 elections.

By failing to get even one reform implemented Tsvangirai has once again given Zanu PF a licence to rig the elections and instead of acknowledging his own stupidity he is asking the people to “defend their vote”. What exactly is a villager being threatened with beating, rape or worse, if he/she does not vote for Zanu PF, supposed to do to defend their vote?  

Mugabe has enjoyed 37 years in power because he has rigged the vote. We know he rigs elections and, better still, we know what must be done to stop the vote rigging. It is sheer madness to do nothing to stop the vote rigging and instead contest the flawed elections time and time hoping against hope that Mugabe will rig the elections and lose!

With unemployment at a nauseating 95%, millions now living in abject poverty, health service has all but collapsed, etc., etc.; there is no doubt that this nation is in serious trouble and must do something to revive the national economy a.s.a.p. Zimbabwe’s economic recovery is totally dependent on the country electing a competent and democratically accountable government. This is why the country must implement the reforms and ensure the next elections are free, fair and credible.

We cannot afford another rigged elections and another five years of Zanu PF corruption and mismanagement!  By the same token we cannot afford a corrupt and incompetent opposition, an echo chamber repeating the vote rigging problems but not offering any solution, who will only drag us into another flawed election hoping for a miracle electoral victory.