A politician’s work is never
done! In the case of Zimbabwe’s politicians, on both sides of the political
divide, they never do anything the people ask or expected them to do because
they are always working hard pursuing their own selfish interests even to the
extent of undermining public interests to promote their selfish interests.
There is no doubt that Morgan
Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders understood the need for democratic
changes to end the pervasive corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. They
named their political party, the Movement for Democratic Change, to capture the
nation’s popular sentiment and to underline that they understood what the
nation needed. Alas, when Tsvangirai and his friends were sworn into office and
had the political power to bring about the democratic changes, they failed to
deliver even one reform. They were so preoccupied with feathering their own
personal nest they pushed democratic reforms aside because implementing the
reforms would have go in the way of feathering their individual nests.
Ever since MDC leaders’ GNU
days, confusion has ruled the roost in MDC. They no longer talk of democratic
reforms but talk instead of electoral reforms and realignment of the existing
laws to the new 2013 constitutions. They will talk of the new constitution as
the most democratic constitution in the world although the better informed
among them will admit it is a compromise document giving “excessive power to
the State President without any of the usual democratic checks and balances”.
Clause 209 being one such example.
Ask them to give even one
example of what these electoral reforms or realignments; it is lights out, they
have no clue.
Whilst at one stage the
opposition agreed on the need to implement the reforms before the next
elections the sentiment has been quietly dropped. They will want to contest
next year’s elections. In the morning, one might hear the opposition arguing
that they have strategies to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote – although they will
not say what these are. In the afternoon of the same day, the same opposition
leaders will be claiming that they have given up on stopping Zanu PF rigging
the vote, they have strategies on how to win rigged elections. Again, they will
not say what these strategies are, they just want us the people to do as they
instruct us.
The opposition have praised
the need for them to form a grand coalition as the silver bullet to stop Zanu
PF’s vote rigging and deliver opposition electoral victory. How the coalition
would have stopped Zanu PF rigging the vote count to change the 73% for
Tsvangirai in March 2008 to a 47% to force the run-off, for example? Again,
they do not say. In any case the grand coalition has been a sorry looking MDC
Alliance which has left some coalition partners divided more than ever.
The one drum rhythm all the
75 plus opposition parties in Zimbabwe have all been beating in unison is
mobilizing the voters first to register as voters and then, come the election
day, to go out and vote. The voter mobilization call has struck such a sweet and
sympathetic note in the political consciousness of an otherwise comatose nation
that individuals, groups like Election Resource Centre (ERC), media houses like
VOA, etc. have all taken it upon themselves to mobilise people. They all could
not wait for the voter registration exercise to start.
Of course, Zanu PF was aware
of all this voter mobilisation hive of activity and the regime knew exactly
what to do to make sure all the enthusiasm came not naught. The regime has
delayed the voter registration, which should have started in in 2015 at the
latest give this is a new system, to start last month. And, to compound it late
start, the voter registration has been painfully slow!
There is no way ZEC is going
to register all those wishing to register in the four months and there is no
way they are going to produce a verified voters’ roll in time for the
elections. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friend contest the 2013 elections with
no verified voters’ roll; this was downright stupid of them since releasing a
voters’ roll is a legal requirement and, in this case, was the smoking gun to
many of the regime’s vote rigging antics.
It is clear the opposition
will, once again, contesting next year’s elections with not even one democratic
reform in place and not even something as basic and fundamental as a verified
voters’ roll!
“To date, ZEC has only
managed to register about 40 000 people countrywide and the reports that are
trickling in from all over the country, speak to a situation in which the BVR
process is painstakingly slow and cumbersome. There are instances where prospective
voters have each taken no less than two hours just to have the paperwork and
the computer formalities finalised to have one voter registered,” said Gutu,
acknowledging some of the hurdles the would-be voters are facing.
“At several BVR centres in
cities and towns such as Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Kadoma and Mutare, ZEC
officials turn up very late (around 13.00 hours), to open the centres for the
public to come and register. In addition, some essential paperwork such as the
form VR9 are almost invariably in short supply thus making it extremely
difficult for people to register as voters.”
“As the country’s largest and
most popular political party, the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai will continue to
call upon Zimbabweans to turn out in their millions and register to vote
regardless of the various hurdles that have been put in place by ZEC and its
political masters. It is a fact that dictatorships the world over subsist on
voter apathy,” admitted MDC-T national spokesman Obert Gutu.
We know from the past that
hundreds of thousands of would-be voters failed to register because the regime
used the same dirty tricks to stop many registering as voters. Even those who persist
and jump over all the hurdles placed their way, many have found their names had
been weeded off the voters’ roll or posted to some other constituency.
What is shocking here is that
the opposition is ignoring the glaring need to reform such institution as ZEC
so that they carry out the constitution take of registering voters, etc.
professionally. No one should have to put up with all this nonsense of queuing
for days just to be registered and then be denied the vote anyway! It is an
insult that the very people who have stubbornly refused to have the democratic
reforms implemented to end this abuse of power by Zanu PF and the circus of
vote rigging should then accuse the real victim of these flawed and illegal
elections, povo, of voter apathy! What cheek!
“Dictatorships the world over
subsist on voter apathy!” No, you moron, if ZEC officials are taking two hours
to register one voter or are not registering anyone at all because they do not
have VR9 forms what do you want the ordinary people to do! The Zanu PF
dictatorship has managed to stay in power all the last decade because MDC
leaders have failed to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop the
regime rigging the vote.
“If you go into elections
next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done!” SADC warned MDC
leaders at the Maputo summit in June 2013. SADC leaders were warning against
contesting elections with no reforms in place.
MDC leaders did not listen
and Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the vote and win with a landslide because
the regime had carte blanche powers to rig the vote – nothing to do with voter
apathy!
What most Zimbabweans are not
aware of is that by participating in these flawed and illegal elections
process, be it by joining the queue of those trying to register to vote you are
counted as having approved of the process and thus given it credibility.
Even this early in the
process, it is clear that Zanu PF’s vote rigging is on course to deliver
another landslide victory for the regime. The regime has billions of dollars
looted from Marange to bankroll its many vote rigging schemes, the BVR registration
exercise has all but killed the voter mobilization zeal from even the most
fanatical zealots, etc. All participation in the process will not change the
Zanu PF victory but give the process credibility!
Those who do participate cannot
turn around after the result are declared and denounce the electoral process as
flawed because they were warned of this in advance and participated regardless.
By participating you are per se approving of the process! “Yatsvika musheche,
yamwa!” as one would say in Shona.
It is madness to play any
part in an electoral process one knows is flawed and illegal. Do not join the
queue and try to register, attend any political rally, etc. it is all a waste
of time. You must demand the implementation of the reforms and refuse to
recognise any elections held before the reforms as legitimate.
The people of Zimbabwe must
accept the political reality that Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends
sold-out during the GNU by failing to get even one reform implemented. They
have lost all credibility as honest and competent champions to deliver democratic
change elections; they know and most important of all Mugabe knows it. The
tyrant knows that as long as MDC remains as the country’s main opposition
party, Zanu PF will retain its carte blanche powers to rig elections because
MDC will never demand the implementation of the reforms. Never!
MDC will would rather blame
the voters for their apathy than admit Zanu PF rigged the vote because nothing
has been done to implement the reforms. Zanu PF will allow Tsvangirai to stay
in his $4 million Highlands mansion and even pay his medical bills, etc. for
taking the spotlight from the reforms and blame the victims, povo, for another
rigged election
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