"Mugabe was democratically elected," said Muzamhindo - only fools believe that, SADC are no fools W Mukori

Only a Mugabe apologist and sycophant would pretend that Mugabe is a democratic.

“Remember Mugabe is trying to save his legacy and he wants to be viewed as someone democratic,” wrote Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo, “a leading academic and researcher”, we are told.

Mugabe’s legacy is already well documented and set in stone; he is a corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrant who destroyed a promising nation’s economy and denied millions of his people their freedoms and basic human rights to gratify hid insatiable greed for power and wealth.

“Remember Mugabe has state machinery behind him, and he is still a democratic elected President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, so any attempt to cause chaos on the congress or even before will be viewed by analysts, SADC and AU as attempt coup,” you continue. This too is nonsense.  

Mugabe has kept the war veterans in the security sector, in the civil service and the Jabulani Sibanda and Chris Mutsvangwa rogues because he needed them to bolster his position and grip on power. It is only in the last three years that he has made a concerted effort to get rid of these men and women; they can see what he is up to and they have all said no. Mugabe does not have control of the Army, Police, CIO or the war veterans.

In June 2013 SADC leaders told Mugabe to his face that Zimbabwe’s planned elections must be postponed until the democratic reforms, to ensure free and fair elections, are implemented.

“Of course, they (elections) can be postponed,” Dr Ibbo Mandaza explained in a recent interview with 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’.  

“And we came back on a Sunday and that Monday we had a SAPES Policy Dialogue to discuss the Summit and lo and behold, whilst we were discussing it, the court papers arrived calling the MDC to court to show reason why the elections should be postponed.  Mugabe had done a volte-face against the decision of the Summit. Mugabe went on TV and threatened to leave SADC – ‘who is SADC, we can leave SADC anyway’. 

“And so, under some pretext of a court application by Jealousy Mawarire, which others claim was really a ZANU PF ploy, the elections were held. And 3 or 4 days before the election Morgan Tsvangirai was lamenting that he had evidence that the election was already rigged. But they were warned like they are being warned again now. But blindly, they cannot make any excuses now, they going into elections again.”

SADC leaders wanted the elections postponed precisely because they knew, with no reforms, Mugabe would rig the vote. But when Tsvangirai and company ignored their advice not to contest the elections, there really was nothing else SADC leaders could do to stop the flawed elections going ahead.

When Tsvangirai later complained that the elections were rigged, SADC leaders completely ignore him because they had warned him that was going to happen and he would not listen. By the same token when Mugabe claimed he had been democratically elected SADC leaders ignored him too, because they are not stupid, they know he rigged the vote!

SADC leaders are aware that Zanu PF is already rigging next year’s elections. They can see how the regime is making heavy weather of the ongoing BVR exercise, for example. There is no way the regime is going to produce a verified voters’ roll in time for the elections, although this is a legal requirement. This is a calculated ploy by the regime to hide some of its vote rigging activities.

The AU election observer team specifically noted the failure to produce a verified voters’ roll as a serious irregularity is the July 2013 elections. The regime is doing the same thing again.

If Mugabe believes he can once again blatantly rig next year’s elections and get away with it, he had better think again!

SADC leaders are painful aware of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown which has forced unemployment to soar to 90% plus; forced basic services like clean running water, education and health to collapse; forced 72.3% of country’s population to live on US$1.00 or less a day. SA and Botswana have seen more and more Zimbabweans crossing the border, many illegally, in search of work, to access health and education facilities – especially the ruling elite.

SADC KNOW another rigged election in Zimbabwe will be a hammer blow to the already very weak economy. Zimbabwe is tittering on the edge of total economic collapse and political instability another rigged elections could be the final push. SADC leaders know an unstable Zimbabwe will drag the rest of the region with it. They know they must act and know exactly what they have to do.

SADC leaders will not accept the results of Zimbabwe’s next year sham elections! They have warned both Mugabe and Tsvangirai about the need to implement the reforms but neither of the two leaders would listen, now SADC leaders have to put their foot down and stop the rot!     

“Remember Mugabe always takes people by surprise, and he always keeps his cards close to his chest, and this has made Mugabe to be what he is today. So, for now this will be a crucial congress to Zanu PF and the whole country,” continued Tinashe.

Mugabe can scheme all he likes, he cannot write history; he is an incompetent, corrupt and murderous tyrant not a democrat and he will not get away with rigging next year’s elections.