It is wise to have the discipline to carefully think through and then act because no matter how brave and courageous an act may be, unless it guided by wisdom and thus certified as the right thing to do, it will have disastrous consequences if it is the wrong thing. Contesting next year’s elections with no reforms is the wrong thing and the consequences of yet another Zanu PF election victory will be disastrous to the nation.
I will take you up on what you said in you last article, “Dark days ahead – maybe that’s what we need to fight” in Nehanda Radio.
“As we focus on the 2018 elections, we must not be under any illusion, for ZANU PF any type of victory goes. That gang will do anything to remain in power. Their love for power causes them to never respect the will of the masses,” you said.
Well I agree with you there my brother 100%. I would even go on to add that with no democratic reforms in place, Zanu PF have a license to use any dirty trick they can think of to rig the vote. They have billions of dollars, looted from Marange and Chiadzwa, to bankroll whatever diabolical voting schemes their strategists can think of.
They also have the Zanu PF youth militia and local traditional leaders backed by the Police, Army and CIO to make ensure the people do as they are told. We are all only too familiar with the party’s modus operandi – the people will be marshalled and then herded off like cattle to attend party rallies and then vote for party candidates – we have seen this happen a thousand times.
So, Zanu PF does not only have the desire to retain power they have the means to make sure they win the elections by hook or by crook.
“We
can’t afford to procrastinate. The time is now! Let’s confront this evil at all
levels. With our ballots at election and with our courage on the streets as we
push for everyday reforms. There is strength in our numbers. I am playing my
part both in the street and at the election, so should you,” you argue.
Well
I have to beg to differ with you there, sir! We have just agreed that Zanu PF
is as keen as mustard to win the elections and it has a really well funded and
very sophisticated vote rigging system; it is simple naïve to expect the regime
to rig the vote and lose the elections. So why are you still insisting in us
contesting a flawed election?
Yes,
“there is strength in numbers” but not when hundreds of thousands are frog
marched and told to vote for X or be sorry! We will never know how many
opposition supporters failed to register in the 2013 elections because the
regime had more voter registration centres in Mhondoro (Zanu PF strong hold) with
a population of 100 000 than it had in Harare or Bulawayo with a population of
2 million each!
We
know in the 2013 elections nearly one million voters were denied the vote
because their details were not in the constituency voters roll they expected.
Normally these people would have discovered this in time, they did not in this
case because the regime failed to realise the voters roll at least one month
before the voting day as is stipulated by law.
Zanu
PF won the 2013 elections because the party blatantly rigged the vote, most of
those in the opposition agrees on this which is why MDC-T, MDC-N and PDP agreed
not to contest future elections until reforms are implemented. “No reform, no
elections!” they said.
SADC
leaders had warned Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to contest the 2013
without first implementing the reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the
vote. SADC had election observers in the 2008 elections and they saw for
themselves the scale and ruthlessness on Zanu PF’s vote rigging expertise; they
knew it was futile to expect the system to deliver free, fair and credible
elections without reforming it first. Tsvangirai & co. did not listen to
the SADC warning even when they too knew the elections would be rigged, as
David Coltart admitted in his book.
“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 elections,” 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.”
The
opposition politicians have since abandoned their “No reform, no election!”
position to contest in next year’s flawed elections for the same reason they
contested the 2013 elections with no reforms – greed, pure and simple.
The
opposition want to give the impression that forming the coalition and then
mobilizing the voters will be enough to counter Zanu PF’s vote rigging; they
know they are lying. They are lying to hide the truth that they are abandoned “No
reform, no elections!” to fight over the few seat Zanu PF gives away.
Of
course, it is utterly futile contesting in an election knowing all along they
will be rigged. MDC conned the nation into participating in the 2013 elections
and we accomplished nothing other than give President Mugabe to bragging rights
of having the people’s mandate.
Whether
we like it or not, if we participate in next year’s elections we will have
given the process the democratic credibility.
The first act here is to demand of Tsvangirai and his opposition friends not to contest in the elections until reforms are implemented. Tsvangirai & co. must be told in no uncertain terms that contesting another flawed election for selfish gain is tantamount to sleeping with enemy, Zanu PF. And that is not going to be tolerated, not this time!
It was SADC, AU and the international community who refused to grant President Mugabe the legitimacy following the rigged 2008 elections and thus forced him to form the GNU and to agree on the need to implement democratic reforms. If the opposition do not sell-out by contesting the flawed elections next year; Zanu PF will once again find itself back in the dog-house; this time we will see to it that ALL the reforms are implemented.
If anyone is going to hold street protests then the protesters must demand the implementation of the reforms BEFORE elections.
The people of Zimbabwe took part in the 2013 elections with no reform and Zanu PF blatantly rigged the vote; for the people to do the same again next year still with no reforms in place and expect a different result is an act of madness!
Best regards
Patrick Guramatunhu.
When it comes to independent thinking Zimbabweans will bend over backwards just to be agreeable.
ReplyDeleteI will bet my bottom dollar Dr Dzamara is aware how Tsvangirai and the others in the GNU betrayed the nation and failed to implement even one reform. Dzamara is smart enough to understand David Coltart was saying as to why MDC leaders contested the 2013 elections even thou it was evident the elections would be rigged. Dzamara is ignoring all these facts proving beyond all doubt that MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent and that it is downright midsummer madness to contest 2018 elections with no reforms for one reason – to feed his need to ingratiate himself to the opposition.
There is peer pressure but when peer pressure takes precedence over reason and truth particularly when the consequences of a myopic decision are horrendous as is the case here. Zimbabwe is facing a very serious economic and political crisis, many people are now living in abject poverty the kind that kills people; another rigged election will deepen the crisis, kill even more people and may well push the nation over the edge into social chaos or worse. It is totally irresponsible for anyone to mislead the nation into participating in flawed elections and pay this dear price for no better reason than cheap social mobility!