"Park rigged elections for power sharing dialogue" - demanding Zanu PF steps down and rigged elections is gist W Mukori

Zimbabwe is in a real economic and political mess because the nation is well and truly stuck in a rut! If I was asked to pick one reason why the nation is stuck, it will have to be lack of meaningful dialogue.

What better place to start than defining dialogue: Dialogue, verb means “take part in a conversation or discussion to resolve a problem.”

Our problem: to government the country for the good of all Zimbabweans and not for the benefit of the few. After 39 years of our independence we now have a filthy rich and power ruling elite with the overwhelming majority now living in abject poverty and with no political voice. None!

For there to be a meaningful national dialogue then there is to be some rules to govern the conduct of the said conversation and here are some of those basic rules:

a)     The problem or subject of the dialogue must be defined and understood by all

b)     Facts, truth and realities must be accepted and valued as such by all

c)     All must be afforded the equal right and opportunity to be heard

d)     When it is time to decide the way forward, all those affected by the decision must be afforded a meaningful say in it.

e)     A free media, freedom of association; free, independence and apolitical democratic institutions such as the Police and Judiciary to police and enforce the rules; free, fair and credible elections; etc. are all important in guaranteeing individual rights and freedoms and national stability.

In the Zanu PF ruled Zimbabwe all the above rules have been routinely disregarded and corrupted. For the last 39 years the only voice to be heard was that of Zanu PF leaders, a monologue in every sense of the word. Whatever Zanu PF wanted to do, it has done. The party has rigged the elections and get away with it with impunity!

The party has usurped all the people’s freedoms and democratic rights; the people have watched, helpless to do anything to stop the madness, as Zanu PF destroyed the country’s economy through gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and lawless power.

Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs. And as long as the country remains a pariah state, there is no chance of country achieving and meaningful economic recovery because no one wants to do business in a pariah state.

It was to take most Zimbabwean nearly 20 years to fully appreciate how Zanu PF had stifled all meaningful national dialogue. Zimbabweans have since risked life and limb in a fight to restore their freedoms and rights. Sadly, for them, they have elected the wrong people to champion their cause.

Zimbabweans have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding they would deliver democratic changes, as the party’s name suggest. The party has had many golden opportunities to implement the democratic changes the nation has been dying for but wasted them all. In all MDC’s 20 years on the political stage, the party has failed to implement even one meaningful democratic change! Not one!

If there was ever any meaningful dialogue between MDC and the people of Zimbabwe, there is no such dialogue now. Whilst the nation is still fighting for the implementation of the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections, for example. It is now clear MDC leaders do not care if elections are rigged as long as they have a share of the spoils of power!

"I think both leaders have to park that issue (whether last year’s elections were free, fair and credible and therefore Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF party are legitimate). In other words, Emmerson Mnangagwa mustn't be insisting that he be recognised," explained David Coltart, MDC treasurer general.

"Nelson Chamisa must say okay, I dispute that, but I am going to park this issue for the national interest so that we can get to the substantive issue because if both stand on their respective positions, it's going to be difficult for dialogue to be pursued."

"So what the public needs to understand is that there is a consensus that we are committed to stabilising the country and to take the country through meaningful dialogue. What we believe though is that the playing field is uneven at present. We think - and I think justifiably - there are two dominant political parties in the country and two dominant political leaders, Nelson Chamisa and Emmerson Mnangagwa, and this is borne out of the election results."

This is just the point! Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections, just as the party has done all these last 39 years. The regime denied 3 million or so Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote, which is more than either Chamisa or Mnangagwa claim to have got.

Zimbabwe’s own Human Rights Commission complained of rural voters being intimidated by traditional leaders and Zanu PF operative and forced to allend Zanu PF rallies and then vote for the party.

ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll even though this is a legal requirement.

All the election observers with any democratic credentials condemned last year’s elections. “The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner,” stated the EU Observer Mission final report.

“The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

MDC should have never taken participated in last year’s elections because we all know that with no meaningful reforms in place Zanu PF will rig the elections. They participated out of greed, as Coltart himself admitted in his book.

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the (2013) elections,” explained Senator Coltart.

“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”

He blamed the failure to form a coalition in 2013 but that was just a feeble excuse because four of the main MDC factions did form a coalition before last year’s elections and they still participated regardless.

The primary objective of the dialogue with Mnangagwa is to force the him to appoint Chamisa and a few other MDC leaders, ministers; in return for endorsing the illegitimate Zanu PF regime legitimate. Allowing Zanu PF to remain in power means Zimbabwe will remain a pariah state, adding Chamisa and a few other MDC leaders will not fool anyone into believing this is anything other than an illegitimate Zanu PF dictatorship.

As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state, there will be no meaningful economic recover. Investors will still be wry of doing business in a pariah state.

Worse still, as long as Zanu PF remain in power there will be no meaningful economic reforms implemented and so Zanu PF is almost certain to rig the next elections, in 2023.

On the other hand, if the issue of Zanu PF having blatantly rigging the elections and therefore being illegitimate was kept firmly on the national agenda and was universally agreed soon after the rigged elections then Zanu PF would have been left in no doubt that the party must step down. Zanu PF stepping down will allow the appointment of an independent body tasked to implement the reforms.

MDC’s proposed power sharing arrangement with Zanu PF will not help the country end the Zanu PF dictatorship but strengthen the regime’s grip on power. The people of Zimbabwe want the democratic reforms implemented to restore their freedoms and rights including the right to a free, fair and credible elections. The people know that Zanu PF stopped listening to them a long time ago but what the people have yet to admit is that MDC leaders too are not listening to them.