MDC and Zanu PF agree on electoral code of conduct - fcuk code, we demand reform W Mukori

“Chidembo kana choda kumbamukadzi chinoshereketa!” (When the skunk wants to divorce its wife, it will not rest until it finds an excuse!) says the Shona adage.

Morgan Tsvangirai have never accepted that they wasted many the golden opportunities, especially during the GNU, to implement the democratic reforms designed to end the Zanu PF dictatorship.  Worse still the MDC leaders have, like the fable skunk determined to divorce the wife, given one feeble excuse after another to justify why they have continued to contest elections with no reforms in place even when it was evident Zanu PF was rigging the elections. The MDC are proposing the setting up of a code of conduct for all election contestants – anything but implementing the reforms.  

“The holding of a free, fair and credible election in 2018 is essential in bringing political stability and socio –economic development to our great nation,” wrote Obert Gutu, MDC-T National Spokesperson.

The very acknowledgement by MDC-T is the critical importance of next year’s elections being free, fair and credible; as contrast to the usual flawed and illegal elections in which Mugabe has carte blanche powers to rig the vote and has done so without failure; is to be applauded. Past experiences have shown that MDC is not a party to be taken seriously; yes, even in such serious matters as the need for free and fair elections. Only a few weeks ago Obert Gutu was tell nation the party was going to contest next year’s elections regardless how flawed and illegal the election process happened to be because the MDC had devised “Winning In Rigged Elections (WIRE) strategies”.

Indeed, a close look at MDC is proposing to ensure next year’s elections are free and fair shows the party has no clue what it is talking about – a workshop to produce a code of conduct!

“The main purpose of this high–level workshop was to discuss and eventually structure a code of conduct that will be adopted for use by political parties and other stakeholders such as traditional leaders, members of the security services, public servants and civil society during the 2018 harmonised elections,” announced Gutu.

“The workshop was extremely successful in that it managed to afford an opportunity to political parties and ZEC to thoroughly discuss and develop a document that will guide all stakeholders before, during and immediately after polling in 2018.”

Apparently the “high-level workshop” was attended by Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC-N, the usual talk-shop suspects; the same busy bodies who, in five-years of the GNU, failed to get even one democratic reform necessary for free, fair and credible elections implemented.

SADC leaders; who were the guarantor of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and proposed the raft of democratic reforms to be implemented; advised Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC colleagues not to contest the 2013 elections without implementing the reforms first.   

“If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done!” SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and company at the June 2013 SADC summit, according to DR Ibbo Mandaza who attended the summit.

As we know, MDC leaders paid no heed to the warning and contested the flawed and illegal elections – the regime failed to produce a verifiable voters’ roll although this is a legal requirement. Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the vote landing the nation back into the political paralysis the GPA had hoped to resolve.

The only relevant question the people of Zimbabwe must now ask is: Will this proposed code of conduct stop Zanu PF rigging next year’s elections?

The answer to that question is a resounding NO! The democratic reforms proposed in the GPA address the core constitutional and structural reforms designed to severe the undemocratic control that Mugabe as Head State has over such institutions as ZEC, Police, Judiciary, etc. to free them to carry out their public duties without fear or favour.

Zanu PF bigwigs like Professor Jonathan Moyo and VP Emerson Mnangagwa have boasted that the party, now that it has regained power after rigging the July 2013 elections, will never implement any reforms and “reform itself out of office”. It should be noted here that Zanu PF was represented at the talk-shop by Webster Shamu; a well-known Mugabe bootlicker who was booted out of the party for supporting Joice Mujuru and was only recently readmitted. Of course, it is naïve to even think even Shamu would agree to and code of conduct that will be viewed as limiting Mugabe’s carte blanche powers to rig elections!

Everyone knows that there is no way ZEC is going to register 7 million voters in the four months allocated and still produce a verifiable voters’ roll before the elections. The regime failed to produce a verifiable voters’ roll although this a legal requirement. It is simply unthinkable the elections can ever be judge free and fair when the authorities have failed to produce a verifiable voters’ roll. It would have been better for the talk-shop to demand the postponing of the elections until a verified voters’ roll is produced than waste time in this code of conduct.

“If we go into elections next year without reforms or even a verifiable voters’ roll, Zanu PF will rig the vote; there is nothing a code of conduct can do to stop the vote rigging. The elections are done!” To paraphrase SADC leaders’ warning.

The three-day code of conduct talk-shop was sponsored by Switzerland, a country with impeccable democratic pedigree going back centuries. The Swiss would be the first to admit there is no healthy and functional democracy based on code of conduct, with no legal bite, administered by deeply entrench dictatorship whose vowed position is to retain power at all cost. So why are the Swiss encouraging us to contest flawed and illegal elections next year’s under the falsehood that some code of conduct scribed on a cigarette packet will stop Zanu PF rigging the vote?

Zimbabwe is in deep, deep economic and political trouble. The country is hurting to do the right thing after decades of blundering from pillar to post and implementing the democratic reforms is the one thing we can do. God knows how many golden opportunities to implement the reforms we have had and wasted. And God knows hold dearly we have paid for our foolishness. It is totally unacceptable that a nation like Switzerland should be teaming up with Zanu PF to send the nation off on yet another wild goose chase.

We want the democratic reforms implemented and not yet another feeble excuse for contesting flawed and illegal elections. The stupid code of conduct will do nothing to stop the vote rigging already under way!    

Heal Zimbabwe Trust promise villagers "peaceful and credible elections" - this is criminal P Guramatunhu

Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic problem; unemployment has soared to 90% and as much as 72.3% of our people are living on US$1.00 or less per day. The economic situation is socially, economically and politically unsustainable. We need a solution and fast!

The root cause of our economic problems is the decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption caused by Zanu PF misrule. The people have known this for many years but have failed to do anything about it because Zanu PF rigs elections and so the nation has been stuck with a corrupt and incompetent regime.

So the solution to our economic collapse is a political one – stop Zanu PF from rigging the elections. But, like many such political problems, saying stop Zanu PF rigging elections is the easy bit; how has been mission impossible until SADC leaders spelt it out in the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA).

The GPA stipulated that Zanu PF and the two MDC factions in the 2008 to 2013 GNU will be tasked to implement a raft of democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging future elections. Sadly, not even one reform was implemented throughout the five-year life of the GNU.  

SADC leaders advised Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends that they must not contest the 2013 elections with no reforms in place for obvious reasons – Zanu PF will just rig the vote as it has done countless of time in the past.

“If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done,” SADC leaders warned Morgan Tsvangirai & co. in June 2013, according to Dr Ibbo Mandaza who attended the Maputo summit.

As we know, MDC leaders paid no heed and contested the flawed and illegal July 2013 elections with disastrous consequences to the nation. SADC leaders’ advice is even more relevant today vis-à-vis the coming 2018 elections; it was very foolish of us to have ignored SADC leaders’ warning not to contest the flawed July 2013 elections, it would be unforgivable for us to repeat the same mistake and contest next year’s elections still with no reforms in place. And yet this exactly what Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT) people are asking people to do on the basis that the Trust’s will deliver peaceful, free, fair and credible elections even thou not even one reform has been implemented.  

HZT has been holding meetings up and down the country promising people free and fair election.

telling the people greatest problem with these NGO initiatives is that they are totally misleading; people believe they are the cure to these problems when in reality they are only a placebo.

“The objective of the interface meetings was to create a platform for community members to interface and interact with duty bearers on critical issues affecting the community. Some of the major issues that came out during the interface meeting include 1) partisan conduct of traditional leaders in issuing proof of residence for the BVR process ii) forced attendance to political gatherings iii) unfair food aid distribution,” reported Heal Zimbabwe.

“The interface meetings were attended by a total of 250 people (101 men and 149 women), nine Traditional leaders, one councillor, two School Development Committee members SDCs), seven Village Development Committees (VIDCOs) and three Ward Development Committees (WADCO) members.

“As a way forward, the interface meetings resolved that the CAATs together with the traditional leaders and other opinion leaders collaborate and carry out public awareness campaigns on the importance of peace, tolerance, social cohesion ahead of the elections. During the public awareness campaigns, Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT) shall also facilitate for organisations working on elections such as ERC and ZESN to attend and raise awareness on the BVR process as a contribution towards peaceful and credible elections.”

The nature of the blatant vote rigging and wanton violence we witnessed during the 2008 elections beyond the political powers of the local traditional leaders and community leaders to stop even if they wanted to. ZEC officials who are responsible for the chaotic voter registration exercise going on right now do not take their orders from SDCs, VIDCOs and/or WADCO members. The only way to ensure ZEC carry out the voter registration exercise properly and competently and deliver a verifiable voters’ roll and free and fair elections is by making sure the democratic reforms designed to make ZEC independent and free are implemented.

It is therefore totally irresponsible of an organisation like HZT to be misleading innocent villagers that they can deliver peaceful, free and fair elections when that is not in their power to do. Whatever HZT people are doing; it is NOT a cure to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote and it is criminal for them to be administering placebos to unsuspecting povo especially when they should be taking the cure.

The people of Zimbabwe cannot afford another rigged elections and for someone to be telling them the elections will NOT be rigged knowing fully well that is a lie is totally unacceptable. If next year’s elections are indeed rigged, contrary to HZT’s stubborn repeated assurance to the contrary; the Trust and its funders will be held to account! 

"Boycotting 2018 is not an option," says ZUNDE - not when it is the only option and it is. W Mukori

“Nhamo inenharo!” (There is no one more foolishly stubborn than a fool!) as one would say in Shona.

The question of whether Zimbabweans should continue to contest the Zanu PF managed elections was answered after the 2008 elections when the regime showed that its vote rigging powers had reached such nauseating heights, it was impossible to beat them. Mugabe was not just using a loaded dice, he was now using one with six on all six sides. SADC leaders recognised that and hence the reason why they have argued for the implementation of the democratic reforms before holding any further elections. It is therefore tedious that we should still have any Zimbabwean out there still calling for elections with no reforms!

 “ZUNDE calls on the people of Zimbabwe to mount a sustained mass public demonstration by registering and voting in numbers never seen before,” argued Moses Chamboko, that party’s Secretary General.

“ZUNDE calls on all opposition groups to unite in this campaign to inspire every eligible Zimbabwean to enrol and vote.”

The long delayed, BVR voter registration exercise finally started two weeks ago and will end 15 January 2018, four months later. This is not enough time to register 7 million and produce a verifiable voters’ roll. Worse still, there are not enough voter registration centres and the process is very slow, only 100 or less are registered per day. All this is to deliberately frustrate the opposition’s voter mobilization drive. Chamboko does not deny the regime’s dirty tactics are working but instead of finally accepting the futility of his efforts, he is asking people to redouble their efforts

“Boycotting is not an option. A boycott would simply give Mugabe and ZANU PF a free pass to continue in power for another five years. Even if significant numbers boycott the elections, given the multiplicity of opposition parties, some of them creations of ZANU PF, there are those who will participate anyway. They may even congratulate Mugabe for winning the election thereby giving legitimacy to a flawed process and results,” argued Chamboko.

“Ideally, we would want electoral reform and transparency before going into another election but we have to accept the reality of Jonathan Moyo’s often repeated assertion that Mugabe and ZANU PF are not going to reform themselves out of power. To them, a free and fair election is political suicide. We have to carry on regardless and achieve by force of numbers what we are unable to bring about by electoral reform.”

We have all heard those empty arguments before and so, for the umpteenth time, we must present counter arguments. There are six points the likes of Chamboko have failed to understand:

1)     People like Chamboko and Dr Nkosana Moyo have talked about only 40% voted in the 2013 elections and argue the opposition will win if the mobilise the 60% who did not vote. This is a nonsense argument because it assumes the 60% did not bother to register as voters and/or vote. As we have seen above the regime has many ways of stopping people to register as voters, of denying registered voters the vote, of allowing its supporters to cast multiple votes, etc.

Zanu PF has been rigging vote, that is surely beyond disputing, and statics coming out of rigged elections are, of course, nonsensical because the figures do not relate to real but fictitious people.

2)    MDC contested the July 2013 elections, confident “MDC’s mass support would overwhelm any vote rigging shenanigans by Zanu PF,” as Tsvangirai later admitted. Wrong; whatever Winning In Rigged Elections (WIRE) strategies, as MDC now call them, had in 2013, they did not work.

Chamboko’s voter mobilization drive and all the other WIRE strategies the opposition have come up with are not new and none will stop Zanu PF rigging the vote and winning the elections. None!

3)    It was not because Zanu PF would not reform itself out of office that not even one reform was implemented during the GNU. Yes, Mugabe was cunning enough to bribe Tsvangirai and company no forget about the reforms; but that is not the same thing. The reason why not even one reform was implemented in five years of the GNU because MDC leaders are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent. The failure to acknowledge MDC’s incompetence by MDC leaders themselves and Zimbabweans themselves has left the nation stuck in a rut; fighting for democratic change but using individuals with no clue what those changes are much less how to bring about the changes

Of course, it is naïve to expect Zanu PF to implement the reforms after the GNU this is exactly why SADC leaders wanted the reforms implemented during the GNU and, when that did not happen, wanted the 2013 elections postponed until the reforms were implemented. Now that 2013 election took place and Zanu PF is back in power, the solution is to boycott next year’s elections.

4)    When SADC leaders proposed that MDC should boycotting the 2013 elections until reforms are implemented, of course, they knew many other opposition politicians would contest regardless how flawed and illegal the process happened to be. To even suggest  SADC leaders were not aware there will be many opposition opportunists willing to step in and contest is a reflection of Chamboko’s own political naivety.

What mattered was that a few opposition parties saw the futility of contesting flawed elections and boycotted. The very fact that not even one opposition politician with the political stature to make a principled stand even on a matter of such grave importance only show the sorry state of Zimbabwe politics. Even in their darkest hour Sodom and Gomorrah names three or so good people; in our hour of great need, SADC leaders failed to get even one Zimbabwean politician of substance! Not one!

Having, even, a handful of honest Zimbabwean politicians making a principled stand of demanding reforms elections would have proven that it was not just SADC leaders who considered reforms important but Zimbabweans too. There is no doubt that SADC leaders would have declared the July 2013 elections a sham if they had had a few Zimbabweans behind them, after all they are the ones who had dismissed them as such even before the elections.

“If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done,” SADC leaders warned Morgan Tsvangirai & co. in June 2013, according to Dr Ibbo Mandaza who attended the Maputo summit.

Mugabe had the choice to either postpone the elections or have the sham elections rejected either way this would have forced the revisiting of the reforms. To argue that Zanu PF would have ignored SADC’s decision to recognise his 2013 victory is a nonsense because he faced the same situation in 2008 and that led to the GNU. Mugabe knows that not even he can defy the whole world.

5)     The opposition parties did not remove Zanu PF from office by contesting the flawed 2013 election, as we can see; all that has happened is postpone the decision to boycott elections. It was madness to contest the 2013 elections with no reforms it is even more so now that the rigged 2013 proved this to be the can. There is no excuse for Zimbabwe’s opposition politicians in contesting next year’s elections; none other than greed.

It is no secret that Zanu PF has been giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to contest the flawed elections. Small price for Zanu PF to pay for the political credibility the opposition give the flawed process.

6)    It is almost certain that this time SADC will dismiss Zimbabwe’s next year election as a sham even if Tsvangirai and everyone in the opposition camp contest the flawed elections as happened in 2013. The one reason being that SADC leaders know Tsvangirai and his MDC friends are corrupt and incompetent and have lost all political credibility. The second reason is that SADC leaders now know the mess in Zimbabwe is threatening the development and stability of the whole region and allowing Mugabe to do as he please is no longer an option.

37 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption has left Zimbabwe in a real economic mess. Unemployment has soared to 90% and Zimbabweans are today the poorest in Africa. The country is tittering on the edge of political instability and another rigged election next year may push it over the edge. Zimbabwe’s economic and political problems have affected its neighbours, especially SA and Botswana, whose have hosted many Zimbabweans economic and/or political refugees.

SADC leaders can help bring about meaningful democratic change in Zimbabwe by refusing to endorse another flawed and illegal election next year. Whoever, be it SADC or the UN, who steps in to help bring about democratic reforms in Zimbabwe, they will know nothing of substance will be achieved until the reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections are implemented.

“We must be determined and persistent. Each one must do whatever it takes to register to vote. It is better to be on that queue for hours than endure another five long years of ZANU PF misrule and madness,” argued Chamboko.

Zimbabweans have risked life and limb for freedom and liberty before independence and since for democratic change but only to be betrayed by both Mugabe and Tsvangirai. Asking the people to make even greater personal sacrifices in this case has not brought about any political or economic change and benefits because it has all been a total waste. Tsvangirai and company had the golden opportunities to deliver the democratic changes the nation has been dying for, literally, but failed to deliver even one change. So, there is a crying need for the nation to replace the corrupt and incompetent opposition.

Second, Mugabe and Zanu PF will never be dislodged from power as long as they continue to exercise carte blanche dictatorial powers to blatantly rig the elections and wanton violence to impose their will. Boycotting the elections will force Zanu PF to accept reforms just as the regime was forced to during the GNU.

After 37 years of trying to win rigged elections it is madness to keep contesting flawed elections and hoping for it different result! Hard work alone is not enough, we must work smarter and that means accepting when something has failed and try something else.

By insisting on implementing the democratic reforms before elections we will guarantee for ourselves and posterity free, fair and credible elections. We will finally get rid of the Zanu PF dictatorship, they will never ever win free and fair election. And once implemented, the democratic reforms will open-up our political system to meaningful free flow of ideas, full public debate and democratic competition; forcing the corrupt and incompetent opposition politicians to up their game or they too will be booted off the political stage.

So, by implementing the reforms, we end the Zanu PF dictatorship and replace it will a health and functional democratic system of government and force the opposition to be competent or ship out. In my rural boy mentality, that is killing two birds with one stone and getting the stone back!