“How can he (Obert Gutu) say MDC died with Morgan Tsvangirai when MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa garnered 2,2 million votes in the 2018 presidential elections?” counted Chief Chiduku in Bulawayo 24.
“Chamisa embodies the aspirations of born-frees.
“That he narrowly lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2018 elections means a lot to us young people. He dared us to dream.”
This is typical of people who are confused and/or whose understanding of the issues are so narrow and vague what they say does not make any sense.
Chamisa’s Constitutional Court challenge of the 2018 presidential election results were based on premise that he had won 2.6 million votes and the MDC A supporters rallied behind him. He failed to produce all V11 forms, the piece of paper giving vote count for each candidate issued by each Polling Station, to show where he got that figure; but that was inconsequential to the MDC A wildebeest herd.
ZEC declared that Mnangagwa got 2.4 million votes and Chamisa got 2.2 million votes. ZEC admitted in its affidavit to the Constitution Court that it too did not have all the V11 forms; it 10 987 V11 forms and about 10% were missing; hence the reason ZEC had third different vote tallies it could not reconcile.
V11 forms are supposed to be completed and signed by ZEC officials in the presence of all the contestants or their agents who will add their signature as the witnesses to the voting process. One copy of the V11 is posted at each Polling Station.
A second copy of the V11 is retained in the ballot box together with the ballots and all the other materials used in the voting process. The ballot box is then sealed and ZEC officials and the witness will all attach their signatures.
A third copy of the V11 is kept by the ZEC officials for use in the next stage of the counting process. This is the copy ZEC command centre received. If, for whatever reason, the V11 form to ZEC command centre was lost, then the vote count from the affected Polling Station would not be included in the vote count until the sealed ballot box was opened. For ZEC to miss over 1 000 V11 forms and to have the votes from these missing V11 added to the total count regardless; should have set-off alarm bells ringing non-stop – this cannot be a free, fair and credible elections.
The failure to produce V11 was not the only cause for alarm. 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora were denied the vote. During his visit to the USA for the Heads of State and Government annual UN meeting in September 2018, Mnangagwa promised Zimbabweans in the diaspora will vote in future. He did not give any reasons why they had been denied the vote in the past because there was no excuse.
Indeed, ZEC had failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, both a legal and common-sense requirement. Without a verified voters’ roll the opportunities to rig the vote are limitless.
Why MDC A and the rest in the opposition camp participated in these flawed and illegal elections, knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging the elections, baffled the uninitiated. The reality is the opposition politicians were after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was giving away as bait; they did not care that the elections were rigged and the masses were being denied a meaningful say in the governance of the country.
By participating in these flawed and illegal elections, MDC A was giving credibility to the process and by extension giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime.
What is really infuriating about it all is that MDC A leaders themselves knew their participating was giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF as David Coltart readily admitted in his book.
In his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe, David Coltart, former MDC – Ncube and Minister of Education in the 2008 GNU, gave details of how Zanu PF was flouting the electoral rules in the upcoming 2013 elections. It was clear the elections were not be free, fair and credible and yet he and everyone else soldiered on.
“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 elections,” wrote 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.”
A feeble excuse because three of the main MDC factions plus four other opposition parties formed the MDC A coalition and still there was no talk of boycotting the 2018 elections. They were all after the few gravy train seats and greed prevailed.
“MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” Chamisa’s feeble excuse for participating in elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging.
MDC A are gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with not even a token reform in place. The leaders are talking of devising “Winning In Rigged Elections (WIRE) strategies”. All nonsense, of course. Without something as basic as a verified voters’ roll the really is no limit to what one can do to rig the vote.
What Zimbabwe needs desperately right now is clear minded people who will discard these WIRE strategies with the contempt they rightly deserve and demand the nation focus on implementing all the reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
We can rule out Zanu PF implementing any reforms before 2023, especially when the party knows MDC A and the rest in the opposition will participate with no reforms. What Zanu PF should know here and now is that if the elections go ahead with no reforms the process will be declared null and void, regardless of Chamisa et al participating in the flawed elections. Enough of this nonsense of elections with no verified voters’ roll, millions denied the vote, etc.
Zimbabwe must never again be bamboozled by Mnangagwa, Chamisa or anyone into yet another flawed and illegal election process and allow the result to stand! The nation has made this foolish mistake these last 41 years and it will be insane to repeat the same mistake again!
Chamisa and his MDC friends sold-out the nation by failing to implement even one reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. They have been rubbing hot chilli in the masses’ eyes by participating in flawed and illegal elections and thus giving legitimacy to Zanu PF.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that many Zimbabweans are naïve and gullible and have, even now with the benefit of hindsight, failed to comprehend that MDC leaders are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent. It is a tragic reality bedevilling this nation!
Still, the are some Zanu PF agents posing as MDC A zealot claiming “Chamisa dared us to dream!” and how he came close to winning the last elections, etc. for the purpose of encouraging MDC A to participate in the next elections. It is in Zanu PF’s interest that the gullible public believe the opposition will indeed win rigged elections and therefore the nation does not need reforms.
Even if the opposition was to win rigged elections in the future, what we can be certain of is that whoever gets into power would want to extend their stay in power by rigging the elections. We should just implement the reforms to ensure future elections are free, fair and credible.
Just because MDC leaders failed to get even one reform implemented does not mean no one else can.
@ Abednico Mwembe Mwembe
ReplyDelete“If zec agreed that some v 11 forms were missing automatically means Chamisa had had a genuine point and they were not missing they were hidden. But mdc alliance saw it unfortunately those forms were nowhere to be found even zec acknowledged that. So how can a sane human being want mdc alliance to produce v 11 which zec failed to produce the custodian of those forms?”
It was Chamisa who claimed that he had won 2.6 million votes and then failed to produce the V11 forms in his affidavit to the Constitutional Court.
No one very half a working brain was surprised ZEC failed to produce 10% of the V11 forms; it was never any doubt was Zanu PF rigging the elections. This was the reason why people have been calling for reforms to be implemented by Chamisa and company would not listen.
You are not suggesting that just because Zanu PF was rigging the elections that gave MDC A the right to do the same?
MDC A are gearing for the 2023 elections with no reforms in place and are hoping to win on the basis of some WIRE strategies. After 41 years of rigged elections you want the nation to continue believing in that nonsense. Of course, that is insane. And thank God there are a few Zimbabweans out there fighting to end this madness!
@ Abednico Mwembe Mwembe
Delete“So if zec failed to produce whatever you are saying then they have a case to answer and Chamisa was right very simple like that and it was Malawi or Kenyan court of law election results would be nullified.”
You must have been taught that you cannot have your cake and eat it too but clearly that never sunk in!
Chamisa wanted to have his cake and eat it too. He did not challenge Mnangagwa’s victory on the grounds that ZEC had failed to produce all the V11 forms to show where the 2.4 million votes for Mnangagwa came from. He claimed that he had won the elections with 2.6 million votes! When the Constitution Court ask him for the V11 forms to prove his case, he failed to produce them!
Chamisa participated in the July 2018 elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging the elections and he was going to win rigged elections because MDC had fool-proof WIRE strategies!
By participating in the flawed and illegal elections MDC A gave the process “credibility”, as David Coltart readily admitted, and gave the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. It is very childish, to say the least, for Chamisa to think he can withhold legitimacy just because his WIRE strategies did not work!
Right now Chamisa and company are gearing to participate in the 2023 elections and the idiots will be making the same childish claims of Zanu PF stealing the elections as if they were not aware of it. Some one has to put an end to this madness and I am pleased to see there are a growing number of Zimbabweans who have taken up this challenge!
Senator Risch tweeted on Monday that Mnangagwa's government - increasingly growing authoritarian - was undermining the will of the people who voted the lawmakers into office.
ReplyDelete"The recall of Biti and other members of parliament in Zimbabwe last week is yet another example of the systematic dismantling of the elected political opposition and subversion of the will of the Zimbabwean people," he said
Senator Risch should know that the July 2018 elections were rigged and Zanu PF has been allowing a few opposition politicians to win seat to entice them to participate in flawed and illegal elections.
The Senator should also know that Tendai Biti and the other MDC leaders were in the 2008 to 2013 GNU and they sold out by failing to implement even one reforms hence the reason the nation is still stuck with Zanu PF.
In short Tendai Biti and the rest of the recalled opposition MPs are sell-out who should never have contested the flawed July 2018 elections in the first place. We are not going to get the reforms implemented and end this curse of rigged elections as long as there are sell-out opposition opportunists willing to give Zanu PF legitimacy for a share of the spoils of power.
ZEC is supposed to produce a verified voters' roll at least one month before nomination day. Where is the verified voters' roll?
ReplyDeleteWhy the opposition agreed to participate in elections without something as basic as a verified voters' roll shows just how corrupt and incompetent they are!
Why are we holding all these meaningless elections whose results are predetermined by Zanu PF? We do not want any elections until the reforms are implemented!
@ Desire Marima
ReplyDelete“Add a reply...So much about mdc failing to make reforms during the GNU!Eish tazvinzwa!
What's the way forward from you guys?”
If the nation has indeed HEARD “about MDC failing to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU” and COMPREHENDED the consequences of that failure; then why are people still following the corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders blindly like sheep to the slaughter?
If you then penny had dropped in your own head what the GNU was about and you understood the sheer futility of participating in flawed and illegal elections only to give the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy; then you will not be asking “What is the way forward?” The way forward will be obvious – do not participate in the flawed and illegal elections!