In an
interview with News24, Senior researcher at Institute for Security Studies (ISS),
Derek Matyszak said that there was need for the Zimbabwean military to stay
clear of politics if the country was to hold a credible election.
"It is important that the military publicly announces its pledge to stay clear of politics regardless of the election results. They have often been meddling in politics in the past and have just recently done that when they stepped in last year," said Matyszak.
"It is important that the military publicly announces its pledge to stay clear of politics regardless of the election results. They have often been meddling in politics in the past and have just recently done that when they stepped in last year," said Matyszak.
The demand
makes perfect sense but given that the Army has deployed over 5 000 soldiers
already and they have been campaigning for Zanu PF for months already, this
will be an empty and meaningless gesture.
President
Mnangagwa was reminded of the need to implement the democratic reforms agreed
at the onset of the GNU and he has dismissed the call with the hallmark Zanu PF
arrogance.
“Zanu PF
ichatonga! Igotonga! Imi muchigohukura! Nokuhukura!” (Zanu PF will rule! And
Rule! Whilst you (calling for reforms) bark! And bark!) He has said countless
time before the November coup and has repeated the same since the coup.
There are
those who want to believe that President Mnangagwa and his junta have changed
so much so they can be trusted to keep their promise to hold free, fair and
credible and disregard the mountain of evidence that the regime is rigging
these elections.
"The
military's involvement in politics is a worrisome issue because they have been
meddling with the country's politics for the past decades. In 2008 they made it
clear that they were not going to back any leader without any liberation
credentials. And they have also made it clear in the past seven months that
they are the final arbiters in the country's politics. So, their announcement
to stay clear of the election will be important," said Matyszak.
Even if
the army was to make such an announcement, these elections will not be free,
fair and credible because Zanu PF has 1001 other vote rigging shenanigans
including war veterans and Chiefs who have been working alongside the 5 000
soldiers in reminding the people they will be punished if Zanu PF was to lose
these elections.
President
Mnangagwa and his junta are not going to keep their promise to hold free and
fair elections and we must be clear and unambiguous as to the consequence of
their failure – the regime will be asked to step aside to allow the appointment
of an interim administration that will implement the reforms and hold free,
fair and credible elections.
Zimbabwe
is in this economic and political mess because the nation has been stuck these
last 38 years with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical regime that routinely
rigged elections to stay in power in contemptuous disregard of the people’s
democratic wishes. Worse still, the country will never ever get out of this
mess until it implements the reforms and put an end to this meaningless charade
of rigged elections.
It is high
time the nation looked President Mnangagwa and his junta thugs in the eyes and
told them, “Zimbabwe is going to implement the reforms and clear the path for
holding free, fair and credible elections. If you cannot do this, then the
nation will find others who can!”
Get real Derek, the army is already up to its eyes meddling in politics, it cannot stop now. Besides there are many, many other ways Zanu PF is rigging these elections. There is no way these elections are ever going to be free, fair and credible; not now.
ReplyDeleteIt is high time the people of Zimbabwe grabbed the bull by the horns and demand that the Zanu PF junta step aside so a new competent administration can be appointed that will implementation of the reforms and hold free and fair elections!
@ Rudo
ReplyDelete"His Excellency, E.D Mnangagwa, then mooted the idea of command farming to provide financial support to farmers. Command Agriculture is whereby farmers are given inputs and other farming machinery in return for delivering 5 tonnes each to the Grain Marketing Board. This development marked a great improvement in the agriculture sector," you said.
Robert Mugabe promised the nation "gutsa ruzhinji" (mass prosperity) but only succeeded in bringing mass poverty. President Mnangagwa will never bring back Zimbabwe's "bread basket of the region" accolades, not with his command agriculture nonsense!
@ Saruchera
ReplyDelete"The first historic instalment without the country's first executive president - Robert Mugabe, an election being held in a peaceful environment were the opposition is campaigning unhindered, where some presidential candidates have gone to the extent of claiming to have turned around the fortunes of foreign lands so as to gain local popularity, while others have kept their cool - juggling stabilizing the country's economy and campaigning for a fresh mandate to deliver more good living to the people of Zimbabwe," you write.
So, do you really think that just because Zanu PF has rounded up all its thugs, just for the time being because it is under pressure, and locked them up these elections are going to be free, fair and credible? How naïve!
These elections are not free, fair and credible because there is no free public media, Zanu PF is robbing the nation blind to bankroll its vote rigging schemes, ZEC has failed to produce a verified voters' roll, etc.
It is dimwits like you who have made it easy for tyrants to seize power and ride roughshod over the people's freedoms and human rights.
President Mnangagwa and his coup plotters did not risk and limb wrestling power from President Mugabe and his G40 supporters, ruthless and murderous thugs in their own right, only to hand over power to Chamisa and his upstart MDC friend in a silver platter.President Mnangagwa and his junta are ruthless thugs and it is not in the nature of thugs to ever give up power, not without a fight.
ReplyDeletePresident Mnangagwa will rig these elections and fight tooth and nail to have them recognised as having been free, fair and credible. We must be prepared for the fight and to stand up to these bullies. They will not give an inch and we too must show them from the word go that we too are not going to give an inch.
After 38 years of rigging elections we must now put an end to this culture. President Mnangagwa promised to hold free, fair and credible elections he must stand and deliver or ship out!
"Mudzuri hints at turmoil in the MDC-T after the chaotic primary elections that have seemingly plunged the MDC-T party into a vicious circle of deception and disguise. Reading into the Vice President's tweet, it goes without saying that there seems that the MDC Alliance boat has hit turbulent waters with just a few weeks before the 30 July harmonized elections. The recently held primary elections culminated in the elbowing out of old cadres such as Majome, Kore, Chimanikire, Mudzuri from parliament. To all intends and purposes, Mudzuri refers to these old cadres in his tweet as the core and umbilical code of the Alliance."
ReplyDeleteThe MDC Alliance will face its greatest test on June 14th when Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube and all the other smaller partners in the Alliance learn how many of them are going to face old MDC-T candidates in the form of independent in the constituency supposedly reserved for them.
@ Nomazulu
ReplyDeleteNelson Chamisa is a corrupt and incompetent village idiot who is desperate to get into power he is promising the nation the moon on a silver platter whilst shooting himself in the foot. The idiot is promising to turn the country's $10 billion GPD into $46 billion in five years, have bullet trains, etc. The idiot had five years during the GNU to implement the democratic reforms necessary to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections and he failed to get even one reform implemented.
Worse still, by insisting in participating in these elections without first implementing the reforms he is shooting himself and the nation at large in the foot because this is exactly what Zanu PF want to give its vote rigging the modicum of credibility.
Zimbabwe will never get out of the economic and political mess Zanu PF has landed us in until we implement the reforms. And typical of a village idiot, he is promising something beyond his reach and ignoring that which is and what the nation is dying for.
Emerson Mnangagwa is a corrupt, incompetent and murderous thug. He was Mugabe's most trusted thug and no job was too dirty for the crocodile. When the tyrant tried to pull a fast one on Emerson and his group of thugs, they booted the tyrant in a coup!
Mnangagwa's "Zimbabwe is open for business!" has failed to bring in the flood on investors he was cocksure would come. Investors are a pretty shrewd lot they were not easily fool by the big smile, the loud scarf and the "new dispensation" sweet talk. They saw the thug trying to con them and by failing to hold free and fair elections Mnangagwa has left no one in any doubt that he is the same corrupt, incompetent and ruthless thugs of yesteryears. No investor in his right mind would want to do business with a thug and his Junta regime!
These elections are offering the Zimbabwe electorate to choose between Chamisa and Mnangagwa; a grime choice comparable to choosing to have one's leg or hand cut-off! As long as nothing is done to implement the reforms so we can dismantle the one-party dictatorship system that has produced corrupt and incompetent leaders in both sides of the political divide they will be never be quality leaders on offer during elections.
"WHAT SHOULD WE DO, MAMA?" you rightly ask.
SADC leaders have answered you; do not take part in the elections without first implementing the reforms!
The people of Zimbabwe must refuse to have anything to do with these flawed elections and demand that they be declared null and void. The international community are sick and tired of hearing Zimbabweans complaining of "rigged elections" when they are the ones who foolishly insisted in taking part in the elections against advice not to!
@ Ringson Ngozo
ReplyDeleteWe, Zimbabweans, have done some stupid things in the last 38 years and hence the reason we are in this mess. People who have done something stupid are stupid, period!
Yes we must treat others with respect but most important of all we must respect the TRUTH! "Akuruma nzeve ndewako!" (A true friend will always tell you the truth regardless how unpalatable it may be!) so goes the Shona adage.