It is heartening to see that organisation like Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition (CIZC) are finally calling a spade a spade!
“The sham 2018 polls resulted in a serious legitimacy crisis that came with adverse effects on economic revival and re-engagement with the international community,” said CIZC statement.
“In January 2018, suffering Zimbabweans took to the streets to protest against the continued economic meltdown and again, the army resorted to brutality and this resulted in the death of about 12 civilians while others were raped and tortured.”
Gone is the wishy-washy “disputed 2018 elections” as if the writer is totally incapable of deciding for themselves whether or not the elections were free, fair and credible. Of course, last year’s elections were a “sham”! ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora were denied a vote, etc.
It is a great shame that country’s corrupt and incompetent opposition participated in the flawed and illegal elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging the elections and, worse still, that by participating they would give the flawed process some credibility!
In his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of tyranny in Zimbabwe, former MDC – Ncube Senator and Minister of Education in the GNU, David Coltart, gave details of how Zanu PF flouted the electoral rules, it clear the upcoming 2013 elections would not be free and fair. Meanwhile talks of uniting the two MDC factions to fight the elections as one were going nowhere.
“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,” confessed MDC Senator David Coltart in his book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of tyranny in Zimbabwe.
“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.”
As a matter of historic fact, four of the MDC factions did form a coalition before last year’s elections and still they participated in these elections too.
It is a double shame that the people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding they would deliver the changes to stop the curse of rigged elections. It is heart breaking that MDC leaders have not only failed to deliver even one democratic change in 20 years but worse still they are the ones knowingly giving rigged elections credibility!
“We further implore the government to respect the right to protest peacefully as enshrined under Section 59 of the country’s constitution,” continued CIZC statement.
“More importantly, we reiterate our call for an all stakeholders dialogue as a way of unlocking the multi-faceted crisis in Zimbabwe.
“This national dialogue process must not be restricted to political parties but should rather bring on board a cross section of stakeholders including civic society, labour, religious groups, business among other critical stakeholders.”
So, it took CIZC a year to finally admit that Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections. One can only hope that it is NOT going to take another year for CIZC to finally come to the conclusion that Zanu PF has no democratic mandate to govern, the party is in fact illegitimate.
The national dialogue that many people including the country’s main opposition, the MDC, are proposing will result in a power sharing arrangement in which Zanu PF will play a role. A similar power sharing arrangement resulted in the 2008 to 2013 GNU involving both Zanu PF and MDC. The GNU failed to implement even one reform in five years. The new proposed arrangement will not do any better.
Zanu PF has rigged elections ever since the country attained her independence back in 1980. The nation has again and again foolishly rewarded the party with absolute power. After 39 years of appeasing Zanu PF with the tragic consequences we can see in Zimbabwe today; just how many more years, human suffering and deaths will it take before we finally accept appeasing an illegitimate regime is insane!
Last year’s elections were a sham, Zanu PF is illegitimate and the least we can do is demand that Zanu PF steps down and not to be rewarding the party with political power for committing high treason! Even now with the country's very survival on the line, the primeval call to appease Zanu PF is simply irresistible!
It is most heartening to see CIZC is now admitting last year's elections were a sham resulting in the illegitimate Zanu PF government in power today. The least we should be demanding is for the illegitimate regime to step down otherwise we should be demanding the regime must be brought to book and punished for high treason.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that CIZC is calling for the national dialogue whose end result is Zanu PF sharing power. Some people cannot resist the primeval urge to appease Zanu PF even now with the nation's very survival on the line!
Zanu continue to repeat the mantra that western ‘sanctions’ are the cause of the economic rot in the country. The coup announcer, SB Moyo, while in London and right before we showed our defiance to him, was regurgitating the same pieties about sanctions at Chatham house.
ReplyDeleteThe claims that sanctions are the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic woes have all been shot down the only reason Zanu PF keeps regurgitating the same nonsense is because the regime has nothing new to say. Zanu PF is stuck with the sanctions excuse just as the nation itself is stuck with the corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous regime.
Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections and all pressure should have been brought to bear on the regime to resign. Sadly, that was no to be. By participating in the flawed election the opposition gave the process some credibility!
“It is a great shame that country's corrupt and incompetent opposition participated in the flawed and illegal elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging the elections and, worse still, that by participating they would give the flawed process some credibility!”
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head right there! As much as the international community roundly condemned Zimbabwe’s sham elections they had to listen to what Zimbabweans themselves were saying. And Zimbabwe’s whole opposition camp voted with their feet to approve the sham elections.
Nelson Chamisa even mocked his predecessor, Morgan Tsvangirai, for being robbed with his eyes open in agreeing to participate in the 2013 elections without something as basic as a verified voters’ roll. He went on to do exact that himself. Chamisa was not robbed, he was bought; that is a totally different kettle of fish.
MDC knows that Zanu PF is illegitimate and what Chamisa and company are doing is trying to pressure Mnangagwa to bribe them with gravy-train seats in return for MDC’s public endorsement of the sham elections as free, fair and credible. Of course, MDC are corrupt, incompetent and sell-outs!
What makes Zimbabwe’s case even more tragic is that the civic society, even those posturing as human rights defenders, have cheered and applauded these opposition sell-outs.
CIZC have taken a year to come to the conclusion that last year’s elections were a sham. It will be asking too much of the organisation to ask MDC why the party participated in sham elections. The question is obvious to some but a complete mystery to the likes of CIZC!
CIZC want Zanu PF to be involved in these national dialogues even if the party is clearly guilty of denying Zimbabweans a meaningful say in the governance of the country and landing the nation into this mess. CIZC admit Zanu PF is illegitimate but their “primeval urge to appease Zanu PF”, as you rightly put is irresistible!
@ Edgar Gweshe
ReplyDelete“While I respect freedom of expression, it is clear that the writer has not been following CIZC's statements since the military coup and the sham polls. I am tempted to think the writer bumped into this current one and made no effort to research on previous statements of the coalition,” you said.
Gweshe, I am sure the writer would not mind being corrected, and the reader being educated, on what exactly CIZC has been saying “since the military coup and the sham polls”. It is very disappointing that you chose to say nothing here!
On the substantive issue of the national dialogue, are you denying that CIZC is calling for dialogue in which both Zanu PF and MDC play a part? Zanu PF is illegitimate and the only reason why you would still want them involved in mapping the way forward is that you lack the guts and political vision to admit the regime is the elephant in the room.
The policy of appeasing Zanu PF has not worked and it is insane to keep trying it after 39 years and with the nation’s survival on the line. Some one had to tell CIZC that their policy of appeasement is downright stupid because it is downright stupid!
Doctors at public hospitals have turned down a 60% salary rise offered by government and vowed to go ahead with their planned industrial action starting today to press for a better offer and an improvement in their conditions of service.
ReplyDeleteThe latest strike, which is likely to trigger bloodbath in the country's already strained public health system.
The doctors had given an ultimatum to the government demanding to be paid in United States dollars, among other conditions.
At the heart of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis is the political paralysis. Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs. The country’s economy has been in free fall for the last 20 years, at least, because it has been near impossible to do business with these thugs.
The economic activities have all but ground to a halt, unemployment has soared to 90%, inflation is soaring back to the 2008 levels when it peaked at 500 billion per cent, etc. The economic situation is socially, politically and morally unsustainable. Fix the economy or the country will slide into social unrest or worse!
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state the economic meltdown will only get worse.
The only sure way sponge out the pariah state is for the illegitimate Zanu PF regime to step down to allow for the appointment of an interim administration committed to implementing the reforms and end the curse of rigged elections.
The proposal to dilute the Zanu PF regime with the addition of a few MDC members will not change the basic reality that the regime is illegitimate. The argument Nelson Chamisa has the “key to legitimacy” is just nonsense. Only the people of Zimbabwe in a free, fair and credible election have the power to grant legitimacy.