Zimbabwe is in an unusual situation in that we are stuck with a
corrupt, vote rigging and tyrannical dictatorship and the opposition we
entrusted the task of implementing the democratic changes to end the
dictatorship has, itself, proven to be corrupt and incompetent. Instead of championing
our fight for democratic change, Tsvangirai and his MDC friends are the
albatross around our neck, holding us down. We need to think outside the box,
think the unthinkable!
“Thinking outside the box,” according to Wikipedia, “(also thinking out of the
box or thinking beyond the box and,
especially in Australia, thinking outside the square) is a metaphor that means to think differently,
unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel
or creative thinking.
“Think creatively, unimpeded by orthodox or conventional
constraints, and expansively.”
Orthodox thinking says we must contest next year’s elections no
matter how flawed and illegal the process has become. The logical question the
orthodox thinkers have failed to ask and answered is; can the electoral process
be so flawed and illegal it is impossible to win? The honest answer is, of
course, there is no limit to how flawed and illegal one can corrupt a process.
The question here is where to draw the line beyond which it is futile to
contest the election.
In the March 2008 Tsvangirai polled 73% of the votes, by Mugabe’s
own admission. Before the results were announced ZEC was ordered to recount the
votes and after six weeks of recounting 5 million votes, the 73% was whittled
down to 47% - enough to stop an outright victory and force a run-off. During
the run-off Mugabe turned on violence, “he declared war on the people”, as
Tsvangirai readily admitted when he announced his withdrawal from the run-off
race. The violence was so intense and effective, Mugabe overturned his 27%
defeat in March to an 84% landslide victory in June.
What Robert Mugabe demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt in the
2008 elections is that the Zanu PF’s vote rigging juggernaut could not be beaten
no matter what. It had total control of the whole electoral process from ZEC
officials produced the voters’ roll, managed the election, produced the ballots
and counted the vote, to the security services who turn a blind eye to Zanu PF
motivated political violence and even place an active role in beating and
murder. Zanu PF was like someone with not just a loaded dice but one with six
on all six sides; it is insane to bet on him failing to throw a six!
The orthodox argument that we must contest election no matter
what becomes nonsensical when countered with the Mugabe mentality, to win the
elections no matter what. Indeed, only a fool ever adopt a position so single
track minded and inflexible he will risk all and lose all just to prove a
point. The grave yard is full of people who had the right of way and the only
point they proved was the futility of being dead right!
Boycotting an election process that is so flawed and illegal
there is really no point in take part is where we are in Zimbabwe, given Zanu
PF’s vote rigging capability as shown in 2008. SADC leaders realised this
immediately hence the reason they advised MDC politicians not to contest the
2013 elections and have the elections postponed.
“Of course, they (election)
can be postponed,” Dr Ibbo Mandaza explained to Violet Gonda. “In 2013 the
Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all
about having the elections postponed – the SADC summit.
“I went there. I was there at
the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections. If
you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral
laws.
“And after that Summit,
Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a
separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that
same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac
Maharaj; they were told ‘if you go into elections next month, you are going to
lose; the elections are done’.”
Some people have argued that MDC leaders did not boycott the
July 2013 because they wanted to give the people a chance to vote. This is
nonsense, the electorate’s vote count for nothing if elections are rigged; that
is exactly what rigged elections do, deny the voter a meaningful vote.
Even if MDC had boycotted the elections, other opposition
parties like Lovemore Madhuku’s NCA would have contested rendering the boycott
ineffective. True but then no one is naïve not to know that the promise of a
gravy train seat, which Zanu PF is dangling to entice the opposition to take
part, will prove irresistible to many opportunist opposition politicians. Indeed,
Zanu PF is dangling the bait, confident there will be many takes including MDC
politicians themselves. The boycott, if it was going to have any meaning and
impact, has to be a principled position.
What would boycotting the elections accomplish? The primary
purpose of the 2008 Global Political Agreement which gave rise to the GNU was
to implement a raft of democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the
elections as happened in the 2008 elections. The primary purpose of boycott the
elections is to reaffirm the reality on the ground that not even one of the
reforms had been implemented and, with not reform, it will be futile to hold
elections.
Indeed, it was futile holding the July 2013 elections with no
reforms as we can now testify. Allowing next year’s elections to go ahead,
again with no reforms will accomplish nothing too.
SADC leaders know the economic hardships ordinary Zimbabweans
are facing today. They also know that another rigged election next year will
only make the current economic meltdown even worse, causing serious human
misery and political instability in Zimbabwe and the region. SADC leaders would
like to see free and fair elections in Zimbabwe and not another rigged
election, of that we can be certain.
SADC are set to reject next year’s sham elections but their hand
will be strengthened by if a number of principled opposition politicians and
ordinary citizens boycotted the elections precisely because the whole process
is a sham!
SADC leaders warned MDC leaders not to contest the July 2013 elections with no democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections in place.
ReplyDelete“If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done,” SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and company at the Maputo summit in June 2013.
MDC leaders disregarded the warning and contested the elections, convinced they will win the elections regardless of all the Zanu PF vote rigging shenanigans. Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the July 2013 elections and MDC leaders vowed not to take part in an future elections until reform were implemented. “No reform, no election!” they said.
Tsvangirai and all the other MDC factions have boycotted all the by-elections since the 2013 general elections, supposedly in observance of their “No reform, no elections!” But even when they maintained the by-election boycott it was clear they will not hold that position come the national elections, they will contest the elections even if not even one reform was in place.
The MDC have had to come up with all manner of feeble excuses why they were continued to stubbornly contest elections they knew were flawed and illegal to hide the true reason they were doing it - greed.
Ever since the 2008 election fiasco which resulted in the humiliation of Zanu PF being forced into a GNU, President Mugabe has learnt that he can get away with rigging the elections as long as he entices the opposition to contest by giving away a few gravy train seats. It is these bait seats that the opposition are after and they will contest the elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets!
Obert Gutu was boasted of MDC’s Win In Rigged Election (WIRE) strategies and, now two weeks later, he retreats in panic and confusion at the sight of the Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut. MDC’s WIRE strategies are as ineffective as throwing stones to stop the advance of a column of armed tanks.
It is insane to keep contesting elections one knows are going to be rigged and expect a different result. But unless the people themselves wakeup to the futility of these meaningless elections and break the monotonous cycle this will never stop because both the ruling party and the opposition are gaining something from the status quo.
There is no way ZEC is going to produce a verifiable voters' roll in time for next year's elections. Indeed, the regime has no intention of producing a verifiable voters' roll but a chaotic one. Zanu PF is like a crocodile, it will hunt in the dark, in muddy waters and never in clear waters in bright light! The more chaotic the voters' roll the more the regime can rig the vote!
ReplyDeleteSADC leaders warned MDC leaders not to contest the July 2013 elections with no democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections in place.
“If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done,” SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and company at the Maputo summit in June 2013.
Judging from the chaos from the BVR exercise alone, it is clear Zanu PF has next year’s election in the bag, the elections are done; and all that is to follow is the formalities designed to fool the uninitiated and gullible that this was a credible electoral process.