After 42 years of blundering from pillar to post, there is
no deny Zimbabwe is a textbook failed nation.
Zimbabwe is desperate to do something right.
Well, here is something we CAN and, indeed, MUST do –
implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
Why are the reforms and free elections important and urgent?
You might well ask.
Zimbabwe is in this, seemingly intractable political and
economic mess because we have been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical
Zanu PF regime for the last four decades. We are stuck with the regime because
we could not remove it from office because it rigged the elections denying us a
meaningful say in the governance of the country.
Of all the human rights and freedoms listed in the UN Universal
Declaration of Human rights, the right to a meaningful say in the governance of
one’s country is the king of them all because without the power to hold democratic
account those in positions of power and authority then nothing is sacred not
even the sanctity of life.
“Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be
added unto you!” said Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of independent
Ghana. He was spot on.
To be frank, the ordinary Zimbabwean has never had any say
in the governance of the country from the start. The 1980 elections, ushering the
country’s independence, were not free, fair and credible. Robert Mugabe and his
Zanu PF cronies made it clear that if the party did not win, the bush war would
continue. Of course, the people voted to end the war. One does not argue
looking up the business end of a AK47 rifle.
Once in power, Zanu PF has moved swiftly to consolidate it’s
strangle-hold on power. “What was won by the bullet cannot be undone with a
ballot!” boasted Robert Mugabe when he unleashed his party militia, war veterans
and serving Police, Army and CIO personal to punish the voters for daring to
reject him and Zanu PF in the March 2008 vote.
The blatant cheating and wanton violence were so bad that
Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe’s main challenger in the presidential race was forced
to withdraw from the run-off. Mugabe won the one-horse run off with 84%, overturning
Tsvangirai’s 73% which was whittled down to 47% to justify the runoff.
Both SADC and the AU refused to endorse Zanu PF’s 2008
election victory denying the regime legitimacy because of the blatant cheating and
wanton violence. A first, given they, until then, they had always endorsed Zanu
PF rigged elections. Mugabe was forced to sign the 2008 Global Political
Agreement (GPA), agreeing to the need to implement the necessary reforms to
restore the people’s democratic freedoms and rights including the right to
free, fair and credible elections. A government of National Unity (GNU) was
tasked to implement the reforms.
Sadly, the GNU failed to implement even one token reform in
five years. Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC, Zanu PF’s GNU partners
expected to implement the reforms, with the trappings of high office and with
their snouts in the feeding trough they forgot about the reforms.
SADC leaders did their best to remind MDC to implement the
reforms but were ignored. They advised MDC not to participate in the 2013
elections with first implementing the reforms but, once again MDC leaders would
not listen.
Without doubt, the 2008 to 2013 GNU was Zimbabwe’s best
opportunity so far to implement the reforms and restore political power back to
the people. These coming 2023 elections presents a new opportunity if we play
our cards right.
Zanu PF is blatantly rigging the 2023 elections; the party denied
3 million in the diaspora the vote, or 37% of the potential electorate, for no
other reason than fear most will not vote for the party. The party has
stubbornly refused to produce a verified voters’ roll. Already there have been many
cases of wanton violence and the situation will only get worse.
SADC leaders are under increase pressure, Zimbabwe’s
economic and political mess is spilling over into the other countries, to stop
rubber stamping Zanu PF rigged elections. Given all the evidence of vote
rigging, it is almost certain SADC leaders will refuse to give Zanu PF legitimacy.
The country will be forced to have yet another GNU; this time no stone will be
left unturned to make sure all the reforms are implemented and above all else,
the people’s right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country is restored
and secured for ourselves and for posterity.
I am pleased to say many more Zimbabweans are waking up to
the political reality that the right to free, fair and credible elections is a
lot more than just a right – it is the essence of good governance. Let’s hope
the nation will rally and finally get the reforms implemented and the nation’s
first free and fair elections held – our ticket out of this hell-on-earth Zanu
PF dragged us into.
“Zimbabwe has been a burden to her neighbours for far too long,” Chamisa wrote.
ReplyDelete“It is time we changed this. This all starts with solving the governance crisis, once and for all. We need reforms. We must prepare and have a pre-election pact on electoral and political reforms. Our call to our neighbours is this; we appreciate your benevolence and patience, but you should not have to carry this burden any longer than you already have.
“Help us to hold credible elections. We are encouraged that President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the immigration crisis will be discussed at regional level. Now, more strongly than ever, Sadc must demand reforms. We do not ask for anything new; only that Zimbabwe holds elections that meet already existing Sadc guidelines. This, more than shaming the innocent victims of misrule, is what will solve the crisis,” Chamisa said.
It is not that the opposition does not know that Zanu PF is rigging these elections, of course they know. What matters here is that Zanu PF knows that as long as the parties offers a few seats as bait, the opposition will participate in these elections regardless how flawed and illegal process happened to be. It is this iron cast guarantee that has given Zanu PF the confidence to ignore calls for reforms.
Why indeed would Zanu PF concede to reforms and threaten its hold on power when they know the opposition will participate in the election giving it legitimacy even if they implement not even one reform. Zanu PF will not reform itself out of office when they clearly don’t have to!
Stop the opposition participating in these flawed elections and, of course, Zanu PF will know they have no choice but to implement reforms or lose legitimacy.