“It has been said that insanity is
doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Zimbabweans
cannot, must not, participate in another ZANU PF controlled election. That
would be madness indeed!” wrote Tapsom Muchena, in Nehanda.
He started so well but, sadly, he
was soon hopelessly lost.
“The grand coalition must be a coalition against tyranny and
not a coalition for entitlement to political office. A united opposition will
require a high degree of cooperation and respect for each other to get behind
true leaders dedicated uplifting the people and restoring the nation. ZANU PF
is tearing itself apart because its leaders are locked in a bitter struggle for
power. A united opposition must avoid the same pitfall,” he argued.
He had rightly said “Zimbabweans
cannot, must not participate in another Zanu PF controlled elections”. He then
made a complete summersault and landed flat on his face!
He was talking of the madness
of participating in the Zanu PF controlled elections one minute and the next we
is calling on building of a grand coalition to contest the election.
If Zanu PF has the licence to
frogmarch voters to attend it rallies and vote for the party; can bus its
hooded party supporters from one polling station to the next casting multiple
votes; has billions of dollars of looted funds to bankroll its vote rigging
activities; etc.; etc. How will the grand coalition, even if such an animal can
be created this late before the elections, stop all these vote rigging
shenanigans? The formation of the coalition is just being used to justify why
we should contest the flawed election!
Whilst many Zimbabweans accept
that participating in flawed elections is a totally meaningless and futile
activity they have resigned themselves to elections taking place regardless
their strong misgivings because they see themselves as totally helpless to do
anything to stop the elections.
Of course, there is a lot people
can do to make sure those is power know their strong objections to being denied
their freedoms and basic human rights including the right to meaningful say in
the governance of the country. And demand the implementation of the democratic
reforms to restore all their freedoms and rights.
“We have demanded the reforms
and Zanu PF has already said no!” many people will say. They are right.
“You can’t expect us to
reform ourselves out of power,” as Professor Jonathan Moyo put it, with the usual
dismissive Zanu PF arrogance and finality.
Well the solution here, is
that the people should repeat their demand for the reforms with assertiveness
and resolve. In this case refuse to be dragged into another meaningless
elections process and demand the implementation of the reforms BEFORE the
elections. The people are demanding their right and not some privilege Zanu PF
can give and deny as the regime sees fit.
Talking truth to power
requires a clear and authoritative voice and not frightened Mickey Mouse voice.
Zanu PF’s dismissive arrogance is born out of the knowledge that the people of
Zimbabwe will accept whatever nonsense the party dishes out to them regardless
how blatantly unjust and oppressive it happens to be.
Of course, Zanu PF has no
right to resist the implementation of the reforms to restore all our individual
freedoms and rights. The party had no right corrupting the country’s State
Institution to subvert our multiparty democracy to impose its de facto one-party
dictatorship.
The people can stop the
holding of the next elections until reform are implemented by putting pressure
on Morgan Tsvangirai to boycott the elections until reforms are implemented. The
MDC leaders were advised by SADC leaders not to contest the July 2013 elections
with no reform; the nation has paid dearly for MDC’s failure to listen
Tsvangirai and his MDC
friends have since the July 2013 rigged elections, pledged not to contest any
future elections until the reforms are implemented. “No reform, no election!”
they pledged. The people must hold the MDC leaders to account and demand their
honour their pledge.
It is madness to contest an
election one knows will be rigged and, worse still, knows that by contesting
one is giving the flawed process the modicum of credibility and legitimacy. The
solution is for the people to demand the implementation of the democratic
reforms but, this time, so with conviction and refuse to compromise!
People should not bother
registering to vote; what is the point when ZEC will make you jump through one
hoop after another and, even if you go through, NIKUV will deliberately see to
it your details are not in the voters’ roll. Even if NIKUV has captured your
details it can still post them in another constituency voters’ roll different
from the one you expected. Zanu PF has so, so many ways of rigging the vote
SADC leaders were right; there really is no point in taking part in the
election until reforms are implemented.
Many people accept the
madness of contesting flawed elections but, even after 37 years of rigged
elections, they still continue to go through the rituals of voter education; pray
for change; voter registration with all the torturous demands the regime makes;
etc. only for their vote to be discard one way or the other. All because they
lack the common sense to accept that Zanu PF will never lose an election in
which the party has the licence to rig the vote and therefore it is utterly
pointless for them to continue participating.
If Zanu PF is refusing to
reform itself out of office by participating in Zanu PF controlled elections we
are only encouraging the regime to continue rigging elections. Zanu PF is
playing with a loaded dice; we can either force them to use a normal dice or
stop playing. It is damn to continue playing hoping against hope to win!
He is just drunk on power after even few days on the gravy train these politicians, from both sides of the political divide, they all start grovelling, singing and praising President Mugabe. Super Mandiwadzira is one of the Zanu PF minister just trying to out-do the competition with his "Mugabe is a whisky of the finest quality!"
ReplyDeleteTendai Biti called Mugabe "fountain of wisdom, unflappable father of the nation!"
Many have called Mugabe "an angel or son of God', notably Tony Gara, Chipanga and even the tyrant's wife Grace.
If Mugabe had even the common sense would the country be in such a total economic mess and political turmoil? Zimbabweans cannot even feed themselves in a country which once had the reputation of being the bread-basket of the whole region. He seized the farms and gave them to his cronies and killed the goose that lay the golden egg. What is so “fine whisky of the highest quality” about such crass stupidity!
The historic fact is that President Mugabe is incompetent, corrupt and a vote rigging murderous tyrant. He has tried to hide the truth but failed and with regime change the whole truth and nothing but the truth will be uncovered in all its ugliness. The whole world will know that Mandiwadzira, Biti, etc. were just minions drunk on power and the loot wealth singing for their supper!
Madness, foolishness, stupidity, insanity, call it what you want it is the same illness coming in varies colours and sizes. With madness comes stubbornness, it is the latter that makes the inflicted repeat the same thing over and over again hoping to get a different result.
ReplyDeleteOur opposition politicians are corrupt, incompetent and very greedy, a lethal cocktail that has made many man and woman of substance drunk and stupid as a baboon high on fermented amarula fruit. Our most of our politicians, on both sides of the political divide, are feeble minded who sway like breast feather in the breeze; their drunken stupidity have become long protracted affairs bordering on madness.
The opposition camp has been calling for the implementation of democratic reforms to ensure a level political playing field and yet, it is no secret, that every one of the opposition politician, including the new kids on the block like Dr Nkosana Moyo, intends to contest the coming elections even if not even one reform is implemented. Zanu PF would certainly have to be stupid to reform themselves out of office when they clearly do not have to.
Indeed, Zanu PF has taken full advantage of the madness in the opposition camp to do even the most outrageous things in their vote rigging such as refusing to release the voters’ roll although this is supposed to be done at least one month before voting day. Even to this day Zanu PF continues to refuse to release the 2013 voters roll.
The country is going to use a new Biometric Voter Registration system for next year’s election, this was decided years ago. And yet the registration has not even started and we are less than a year to go to the voting day. This is all deliberate of course. When the new voters roll finally come out it will be full of deliberate “mistakes”, there will be no time to spot them much less have them corrected, which will work to the regime’s vote rigging advantage.
If the regime release the new voters roll this time, which is doubtful, the data will be formatted in such a way that not even the best software specialists will struggle to make sense of it all.
Zanu PF has such a free hand in vote rigging the elections it is no exaggeration that the whole process is “flawed and illegal” as David Coltart rightly said. It is folly to contest an election you know already is illegal; it is madness to do so again and again.
You are right, it is the stubborn madness in the opposition camp fuelled by the greed of getting a gravy train seat by hook or by crook that is stopping the likes of Tsvangirai & co. walk away from the elections. it is impossible for the regime to lose the election.
The ordinary people have nothing to gain from participating in these illegal elections and therefore should not even bother to attend voter education talk-shops, etc. They are the ones being short changed here, why should they cooperate in any way with their tormentors!
No Rita Makarau cannot deliver free, fair and credible elections even if she wanted to because she does not have the power and authority to do any such thing. Even if she did, she would be booted out of ZEC on the spot at the first sign that is what she was doing.
ReplyDeleteThe opposition camp are wasting their time calling for Rita to be fired, Mugabe will only appoint another ZEC chairperson to do his dirty bidding.
If we are serious about wanting free, fair and credible elections then we must implement all the democratic reforms, swipe the slate clean, cut all the undemocratic controls Zanu PF over all our state institutions and restore their independence and powers to carry out their assigned duties without fear or favour. Individuals with Rita Makarau, Augustine Chihuri, etc. with a soiled past, too soiled to be rehabilitated, must be removed from their posts and replaced with others with no past baggage to weigh them down.
With the present political system, it is IMPOSSIBLE to hold free, fair and credible elections. The only reasons people like Tsvangirai, Biti and new the new kids on the block like Dr Moyo, will contest next year's elections even when they can see the elections have been rigged already is for the few gravy train seats Mugabe gives away to entice them to participate.
Povo are dragged along by the politicians from both sides to play their usual supportive roles of blind sheep to the slaughter. Povo have gained nothing from the 37 years of rigged elections but have instead seen their freedoms and human rights systematically eroded away and today they are the poorest in Africa. Decades of misinformation and brainwashing have left most of our people ignorant, naïve and gullible, they hardly know what is in their own interest. It is little wonder that the corrupt and greedy politicians have ruthless exploited povo for their own selfish gain.
Povo will attend these endless but utterly pointless voter education talk-shops, will jump through the hoops to register to vote, will be frogmarched to attend rallies, etc. They will go through all these macabre rituals only for their vote to be discarded and find they are the ones suffering the most from yet another rigged election. Povo are nothing more than the sacrificial lamb who carries the firewood and the knife to be used to cut it throat up the mountain to the altar!
If povo had any of their wit left then they would be the one to put the foot down and demand an end to this madness of contesting elections whose result is already predetermined and, most important of all, an end to their political oppression and economic hardships. Sadly, povo are stewing in this man-made tragedy blissfully unaware of their own potent power to end the charade!
@ Sam Wezhira
ReplyDelete“I say time has come to call a spade a spade. Just ask yourselves people when you saw things getting worse what did you do as a people? When the ZANU PF leadership failed, what did the Zimbabwean Opposition leadership do? I am not here to be a ZANU PF apologist or seek to mislead people but to speak the truth and nothing but the truth. The country is in the situation it is today not because of ZANU PF leadership failure. Zimbabwe is where it is because of our own inaction. Very disappointing right that someone will say that?” you said.
Well said. You right Zanu PF leaders failed the nation and right that we, the people, also failed ourselves by failing to hold the regime to account. But you left out another bit to the whole truth. The missing bit is that MDC leaders also failed the nation; they are the ones who had the power, authority and opportunity to implement the democratic reforms that would have ended the Zanu PF dictatorship after the July 2013 elections.
MDC leaders’ sold-out during the GNU but worse still they are selling-out even now; they are the ones who are going to drag the nation into yet another flawed election process knowing Zanu PF will rig the vote just because the tyrant has offered them a bribe of a few gravy train seats.
MDC leaders are working in cahoots with Zanu PF to drag the nation into yet another flawed election process that will be a total disaster for the nation. The people can stop this madness but only if they fully appreciated what MDC leaders have done during the GNU and are doing right now.
SADC leaders advised Tsvangirai and company not to contest the 2013 elections because it was madness to do so knowing Zanu PF would rig the vote. MDC leaders contest the flawed elections for their own selfish reason – greed. The ordinary people gained nothing but lost everything from the rigged July 2013 elections. Unless the people stop next year’s flawed elections the same will happen again next year.
@ Musarurwa
ReplyDeleteYou are right all the Zanu PF thugs and looters will be allowed to go scot-free and keep all their looted wealth under the corrupt and incompetent Morgan Tsvangirai. He has been promising the thugs in the security sector all manner of bribes if they would support him.
What Zimbabwe is looking for is a leader who will implement all the democratic reforms to restore the freedoms and rights of all our people. Institute a thorough and independent inquiry into the murders, voting rigging and rampant corruption that has been going one with the view of establishing the truth, recovering stolen property, compensating the victims, punishing the guilt and setting an importance precedence that in Mugabe's Zimbabwe crime paid but not in the people's democratic Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is in serious political and economic trouble and it will take a competent leader, one with some common sense at least, to get the nation out of this mess. Tsvangirai is a corrupt and incompetent village idiot who should be herding goats in the rural areas. It is shocking that some people should still consider him presidential material! No wonder the country is in a mess - with an electorate that does not know their left from the right hand, they will elect a village idiot president!