CCC insisted in participating in flawed 2023 out of greed and now they're stampeding into fresh flawed elections. W Mukori

 “Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has initiated a 30-day campaign calling for fresh elections following last week’s controversial poll results,” reported Pindula.

“The party argues that the elections were severely flawed, making the outcome illegitimate. They propose holding new elections under the supervision of an “impartial” electoral body, different from the “biased” Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), or preferably under the supervision of SADC, African Union (AU), and or the United Nations (UN).”

This is nonsense! MDC/CCC has failed to implement even one token reform to stop Zanu PF rigging elections these last 23 years, including 5 in the GNU. It is none other than Chamisa himself who has insisted in participating in these flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed. Chamisa has lied about having winning in rigged elections strategies to hide the greed. 

Now that SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) has condemned the 2023 elections were flawed the man who until 23 August 2023 claimed that he had plugged all Zanu PF vote rigging loop holes suddenly believes the elections are flawed. 

CCC are calling for this 30-day campaign to call for fresh elections to stampede the nation into fresh elections without implementing the reforms. No wonder the party has failed to implement any reforms because Chamisa and company have no clue what the reforms are much less how they are implemented.  

What Zimbabwe need right now is for the SADC Panel of Elders to up hold the SEOM’s report and deny Zanu PF political legitimacy. SADC, with the help of EU and UN, must help in the formation of a new GNU whose primary task, like the 2008 to 2013 GNU, will be to implement the democratic reforms and end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. 

Both Zanu PF and CCC leaders must have no role in the new GNU. They were all in the 2008 to 2013 GNU that failed to implement even one token reform, it is naive, to say the least, to expect them to do any better second time round.

The people of Zimbabwe, SADC, etc. must ignore CCC’s attention seeking public protests. The party has insisted on participating in flawed elections out of greed all these years and now has the chutzpah to stage street protests against flawed elections!

Kikwete and Panel of Elders "to peruse" Mumba's damning report. Gene is out, don't dare even try putting it back! W Mukori

Dr Nevers Mumba and his SADC Elections Observer Mission (SEOM) team’s preliminary report condemning Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections as flawed and illegal has caused such a storm Zanu PF and SADC itself are at sixes and sevens as what to do. They have roped in the Panel of Elders led by former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete to help find a way out.

“The government said Dr Mumba failed to declare his interest when he assumed his role as the head of the election observer mission and his personal interests were seen in the preliminary report,” reported Bulawayo 24.

"A Panel of Elders led by Former Tanzanian President HE Jakaya Kikwete is expected to land in Zimbabwe today. They will be here to peruse the controversies that emanated from the SEOM preliminary report. All members of the SEOM will be assisting except Dr Mumba @ZANUPF_Official," said Zanu PF acting director of information and publicity Cde Farai Marapira.

This is a typical Zanu PF knee jerk reaction: if the regime cannot deal with the message, it will go after the messenger with all guns blazing! Ever since releasing the critical election report, Dr Mumba has become fair game as far as this Zanu PF regime is concerned. We need to examine the facts.

SADC leaders wanted Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections postponed to allow for reforms to be implemented. “If you participate in next month’s elections, you will lose. The elections are done!” they warned Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC cronies at the special SADC Summit meeting in June 2013 in Maputo Mozambique. 

As we know, MDC leaders ignored the warning and participated in the elections out of greed, as David Coltart later confessed. 

“The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

Zanu PF rigged the 2013 elections, just as the SADC leaders had warned. The regional leaders, in sheer exasperation at MDC leaders’ incompetence and betrayal, endorsed the results and granted the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. SADC was to do the same again after MDC participated again in the elections with not even a token reform implemented.  

CCC and the rest of Zimbabwe’s opposition were participating in these 2023 elections with not even a token reform implemented. They knew ZEC had failed to produce even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake! Zanu PF was doing what Zanu PF does best - rig the elections - naturally. It was all business as usual.

Zanu PF expected the SADC election observer team to gloss over the glaring election irregularities and illegalities, as usual. Of course, Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies were absolutely shocked when Dr Mumba and his team highlighted the election flaws and illegalities, instead. 

Dr Mumba, the little boy in Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Emperor's New Clothes”, exposed the Emperor’s nakedness and, freed from all their inhabitations, everyone is laughing. 

Of all people the Panel of Elders know that Zimbabwe is a failed state precisely because the country has never ever held free, fair and credible elections it its 43 years since independence in 1980. They know that SADC has not done the country any favours by turning a blind eye to Zanu PF’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. They know they will lose all political credibility if they fail to back Dr Mumba’s report and deny Zimbabwe the chance to end the nightmare of rigged elections and bad governance.

Zanu PF buying time by delaying announcing result to 31 August. "In the name of God, go!" W Mukori

 “Zimbabwe’s election management body, ZEC, is seeking an urgent court order extending the period of announcing election results from  5 days as currently stipulated in the constitution to 8 days to allow "accurate collation of results" especially on the presidential election,” read a report.

“Sources privy to Newsday has reported that plans are underway for a court application pleading for that extension. If successful, ZEC will only be obliged to release full results of this election by 1st of September 2023. In its papers still concealed from the public, ZEC agues that several previously unknown factors handicapped its operations, eventually forcing the President to declare another voting day for several constituencies.”

Voting was extended by an extra day but that only applied to the polling stations that had problems with getting the voting process underway on time. Considering vote counting is done in each polling station straight after the voting is done and no single polling station has more that 600 votes; this task must be complete in 10 hours or less. 

So all the V11 forms, summary of vote count in each polling stations should have been done and dusted by 8.00 am Friday 25 August 2023.

Ward Centres compiled the vote counts of the 15 or so policing station to produce the winner of the local council elections. Each Ward centre then produce a V23 A and B with summary of the vote count for each parliamentary candidate and presidential candidate respectively. Give this process four hours and all done by 12.00 midday. 

Constituency Centres compile the vote counts from the V23 A from the 15 or so Ward Centres to produce the winner of the parliamentary seat and a V23 C form with summary of each of the presidential candidates. Give this process 6 hours and thus completed by 18.00 hours.

Each Province Centre compiles the vote count of each presidential candidate  from the 30 or so Constituency Centres to produce V23 D. This should be complete by Saturday 8.00 am. 

The 10 V23 D forms from all the 10 Provinces must be in Harare Command Centre by 8.00 am. The compiling of the vote counts for each presidential candidate should be done and dusted by 18.00 hours! 

Why counting 5 million votes is taking ZEC over 5 days and now they want 8 days beggars belief!

 

This is just a waste of time. 

SADC and AU have condemned the process and will not grant Zanu PF or anyone else legitimacy at the end of the day. Zanu PF must be doing this to buy time - time to see if SADC leaders can be talked into watering down SADC's condemnation. Or negotiate with SADC what role Zanu PF will have in the new GNU. 

Zanu PF is holding the nation to ransom and after 43 years of this; enough is enough.

“You have been sat to long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!” said Oliver Cromwell. 

Words the people of Zimbabwe should have said to this corrupt incompetent and murderous Zanu PF regime and its equally corrupt and useless MDC/CCC acolytes years ago! In the name of God, go! We say to them now and mean every word!

"What if Chamisa wins these rigged elections?" It would be a Pyrrhic victory not worth celebrating! W Mukori

 “What if CCC wins whilst you say not free and fair?”some one asked.

Some one once said Mugabe would lose to a donkey if that was the only other option on the ballot IF the elections were free, fair and credible. The same can be said about Mnangagwa. The very fact that Mugabe/ Mnangagwa has won the past elections is proof the elections were NOT free, fair and credible. And it beggars the question why has MDC/CCC leaders failed to address this obvious problem of rigged elections?

MDC/CCC have been on the political stage for 23 years, 5 of which in the GNU, and they have not only failed to implement even one token democratic reform but worse still they are the ones insisting on participating in flawed election to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed. Chamisa has lied about having winning in rigged elections strategies in the past and is lying again now!

Zanu PF is rigging these elections and by participating CCC are giving SADC observers the excuse to grant Zanu PF legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship.

Mnangagwa is corrupt and incompetent but not that incompetent to lose an election in which his party has carte blanche dictatorial powers to rig. Still one cannot completely rule out that possibility since there are many other factors at place. 

So one has to consider: “What if CCC win the rigged elections?” 

It will be a Pyrrhic victory given the criminal waste of material and human resources and the tragic human suffering they caused, which could all have been prevented if MDC/CCC leaders had not sold out on reforms. 

Worse still Zimbabwe will not be a healthy and functioning democracy until we implement the democratic reforms and cure ourselves of the curse of rigged elections. I do not see CCC implementing any meaningful reforms; they failed to do so during the GNU why should they do so now.

Still, I see many people celebrating not so much Chamisa’s victory but rather the end of Mnangagwa’s rule. In 2017 we saw the same thing, people celebrating the removal of Mugabe oblivious of the reality of another dictator taking his place. They celebrated for a month and have been regretting it for the longest while.

Some people never learn!

One can give many reasons why Zimbabwe is a failed state but at the heart of all those reasons are two realities:

1. that we have failed to hold free, fair and credible elections and hence have been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its entourage of corrupt, incompetent and utterly use opposition parties.

2. that we are slow learners and hence the reason we have repeated the same foolish mistakes over and over again and even celebrated failure and treasonous betrayal! 

"CCC will announce results on 24 August!" Yeah and prime street protests. We've travelled this path in 2018! W Mukori

 Nelson Chamisa and company’s child like stupidity never seize to amaze and infuriate me. 

"We have told ZEC that yakafamba kamwe haiteyewi. What you did in 2018, that rigging cannot be repeated again. I am a peace loving man. I love peace and I am going to maintain peace. Loving peace is not a weakness,” Chamisa told the CCC multitude the other day.

"We want to see the voters' roll you are going to use and that voters' roll must be authenticated so that we are not going to be surprised on the day. We want the ballot paper for the President and for the MPs to be given to us as samples so that we validate them.”

ZEC is obliged to produce a verified voters’ roll at least one calendar month before nomination day, which for these 2023 elections was 21 June 2023. ZEC has never ever produced a verified voters’ roll before nomination day or after. Never ever! 

Chamisa said MDC A, of which he was the presidential candidate, would not participate in the 2018 elections without a verified voters’ roll. “This was a mistake Morgan Tsvangirai made in the past. A mistake he will not make!” he warned.

Zanu PF knew this was just grandstanding and political posturing. “Shiri maririre ayo!” The party knew MDC A were corrupt and incompetent and the promise of winning a few gravy train seats would entice them to participate in the elections without a verified voters’ roll. MDC A members were falling over each other to submit their nomination papers knowing fully well there was no verified voters’ roll. 

Both Tendai Biti and David Coltart are some of the opposition leaders who have admit on the sheer futility of participating in these flawed Zimbabwe elections. 

“Look, you can't keep on participating in flawed electoral processes that serve to give big benefits to dictators such as Robert Mugabe. Mugabe has perfected the art of winning elections. So it will be very foolish for the opposition to continue legitimizing these sham elections which don't deliver. This country will go through a serious economic crisis in 2020 caused by Zanu PF. And yet, this is the only country where a government doesn't perform, it is encouraged by a super majority in parliament,” said Tendai Biti in a 2015 interview with Isaac Mugabi.

“So you can't continue subjecting Zimbabweans to processes where their hopes just get crushed.”

Coltart went one step further and explained why the opposition are all participating in these flawed elections knowing fully well they are only giving vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. Greed!

“The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

The pressure to have a verified voters’ roll for these 2023 elections  was  made unbearable when Team Pachedu revealed the chaotic state of the snippet voters’ roll they had managed to access. 

Whilst Chamisa and company made lip-service demands for a verified voters’ roll they pointedly refused to make the production of the verified voters’ roll a condition for CCC’s participation in these 2023 elections. They knew it would be pointless as greed still ruled the roost. 

So Chamisa’s call to “see the voters’ roll” on the eve of voting day must be dismissed with the contempt it rightly deserve. No one can authenticate the voters’ roll of 6 million in just a few days. Even if they can, to what end and purpose since the voting is set for 23 August 2023? Why did you leave it for the last minute? 

“What you did in 2018, that rigging cannot be repeated again. I am a peace loving man.” Well that is just nonsense since the failure to produce verified voters’ roll is one of key vote rigging tools at Zanu PF’s disposal! As for Chamisa being a peace loving man that too is rhetorical nonsense. We have travelled down this path before and we certainly don’t want to do so again.

"I have told SADC that Zanu-PF wants to get the presidential result before reporting it to ZEC but once we get the result we will tell the world what we got ourselves, we will not accept that.

"We will have the result by end of the next day.”

Chamisa and company announced that Chamisa had won the 2018 presidential race ahead of ZEC official announcement primed the MDC A supporters to go out in the street to demand the results on 1st August 2018. Soldiers with standing instructions to shoot to kill awaited the protesters. Was that the acts of a peace loving man! 

If CCC announce the presidential results on 24 August, there is a real danger of history repeating itself.

What is infuriating here is that Nelson Chamisa and company not only wasted many golden opportunities to implement the democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections but have knowingly given vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy by insisting on participating in flawed elections. Having given Zanu PF the opportunity to rig elections and get away with it; Chamisa wants to wrestle power from Zanu PF using defenceless civilians as cannon fodder! This is insane and Chamisa must know that he will be held to account for it.

These are not democratic elections but a rat race! Will the penny finally drop as 2023 result come out? W Mukori

 “A member of the Chivi South Citizens Coalition for Change [CCC], Mr. Willmore Gwarinda, has filed a police report against Zanu PF members who vandalized his house on the 18th of August, 2023,” reported Wezhira Munya on Change Radio.

“The Zanu PF members destroyed all the windows of the house. The incident of violence occurred in Ward 25, Pedzisai Village.”

The next article was the same s****t different place!

“Zanu PF members have kidnapped and brutally assaulted Mr. Tarusarira Taona [Masadza], a Citizens Coalition for Change [CCC] activist in Bikita West,” reported Wezhira.

“Mr. Tarusarira lost a tooth as a result of a violent attack by a Zanu PF members, who struck him in the mouth with an iron bar.”

This report was accompanied by photographs of the victim’s bruised back and the missing tooth!

This is the political reality in Zimbabwe!

How many similar cases and worse are happening up and down the land and are never reported? How can we pretending this is a free, fair and credible elections or delude ourselves that Chamisa has indeed plugged all the Zanu PF vote rigging loopholes? 

The opposition leaders know that these elections are flawed, that participating will only give Zanu PF legitimacy and still the participate regardless because they also know that Zanu PF is offering a few gravy train seats and the POLAD freebies as bait. 

It is interesting to note that if the elections were free, fair and credible and the choice was between Mnangagwa and the donkey, the people would vote for the donkey just to end this Zanu PF dictatorship. Chamisa is far better than a donkey and the only reason why he will lose on Wednesday 23 August 2023 is if the elections are rigged. 

Nelson Chamisa and his MDC/CCC friends were elected into power for the primary purpose of implementing democratic changes, as the party’s original name implied, to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. Sadly, they have failed to implement even one reform in 23 years, including 5 in the GNU when they had the golden chance to do so. 

MDC/CCC leaders have turned out to be corrupt, breathtakingly incompetent and utterly, utterly useless. It is insane to keep participating in flawed elections only to give Zanu PF legitimacy, even for 30 pieces of silver. CCC leaders are insane, “mapenzi chikwinya guvo” as one would say in Shona.

Zanu PF is rigging these 2023 elections just as it has rigged elections ever since the country’s independence in 1980. This is not a democratic elections, it is a rat race, Tweedledee vs Tweedledum, maZanu Machupeti vs maCCC Mapenzi. Mnangagwa is corrupt, incompetent and stupid (Machupeti) but not that stupid to lose a rat race in which he has carte blanche powers to rig and use violence!

It is for the people to wake up to the reality the MDC/CCC leaders have abandoned implementing reforms and free elections during the 2008 GNU and have settled for giving Zanu PF legitimacy for a share of the spoils of power. CCC have been running with povo hare by day and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds by night! 

The people must go back to claiming their right to meaningful elections, to implementing reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections. They are being conned to give up the right to free and fair elections for the dubious hope of winning rigged elections. It is insane to trade gold for fool’s gold especially after 43 years of rigged elections!

By noon Thursday 24 August 2023 the results of the flawed and illegal elections, the rat race, will start to filter through - yet another Zanu PF landslide victory in the parliament and senate and a victory for Mnangagwa in the presidential race. The reality of five more years of this failed Zimbabwe state loom large before the nation; a far cry from the democratic change the nation has been dying for! 

Will this be the moment the penny drops and Zimbabweans finally realise they must revert back to demanding reforms and free elections and stop participating in these rat races! One would hopes so but after 43 years of history repeating itself the reality that this is hoping against reason is setting in!

"We consider free elections as a toolbar peace and stability" said SADC chief election observer. Yeah! Since when? W Mukori

 "So our determination is to support every effort that is going to give us a free and fair election,” SADC chief election observer and former Zambian deputy president Never Sekwila Mumba said on arrival.

"We consider a free and fair election as a tool for peace and stability in any country.

"So if we do not have a fair election, we are going to be subjected to insecurity for quite a while.” 

This was sweet, sweet music to every thinking Zimbabwean out there because Zimbabwe is a failed state precisely because we have failed to hold free, fair and credible elections ever since the country’s independence in 1980. Former deputy president Mumba are even sweeter because SADC has endorsed rigged elections giving Zanu PF legitimacy and thus contributing to the country’s political instability and not ending it. 

It was SADC’s refusal to endorse Zanu PF’s claim of election victory in 2008 that forced Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement, agreeing to the need for Zimbabwe to implement the democratic reforms designed to prevent a repeat of the blatant cheating and wanton violence by Zanu PF. A GNU was formed comprising Zanu PF and the two MDC factions and tasked to implement the democratic reforms. 

Credit where credit is due! SADC leaders tried their best to get MDC leaders to implement the democratic reforms but not no avail. Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office, the ministerial limos, generous salaries and allowances, a US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. And to show their gratitude, the MDC leaders kicked reforms into the thorny bushes. 

“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (MDC leaders have learned to enjoy the gravy train good-life, they will never rock the boat!” boasted the Zanu PF cronies when asked why MDC leaders were not implementing the reforms. 

Of course the Zanu PF cronies were right, they knew only too well the corrupting influence of the patronage system behind the gravy train mentality; they were victims of the same themselves. 

“Mose murivakadzi vaMugabe!” (You are all Mugabe’s concubines, you will never rock the boat!) Margaret Dongo once scolded the Zanu PF MPs and Ministers in sheer exasperation at their failure to stand-up to Mugabe even when they were duty bound to do so. A remarked that, no doubt, tickled the late dictator to his death! 

With not even one meaningful reform implemented, SADC leaders called for Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections to be postponed until reforms were implemented. “If you participate in these elections, you will lose. The elections are done!” they warned Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends at the SADC Summit in Maputo in June 2013. 

Once again MDC leaders paid no heed and Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the elections. SADC leaders went on to endorse the elections, a volte-face since they had condemned the same just weeks earlier, and grant Zanu PF political legitimacy. 

“What else could SADC leaders do since their efforts to get democratic reforms had been rebuffed by MDC and the ordinary Zimbabweans (through their failure to back SADC in forcing MDC to implement reforms)” many have argued. Of course, they have a point.

Still, it must be said that granting vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy these last ten years, in 2013 and then again in 2018, has not helped Zimbabwe solve its problem of rigged elections and bad governance. There is crying need for SADC to rethink. 

If SADC is truly committed to breaking Zimbabwe’s cycle of rigged elections and bad governance, as former deputy president Mumba as the chief of the regional body’s observer team, says SADC is. Then SADC must do what it should have done after the 2013 elections - condemn these 2023 elections as a farce and deny Zanu PF political legitimacy. 

We all know that not even one token democratic reform was implemented since the 2013 elections. These 2023 elections have being held with no verified voters’ roll, there have been many cases of intimidation and wanton violence, the regime has squandered over US$5 billion buying voters and bribing key elections officials, etc., etc. “These 2023 elections are done!” to repeat SADC leaders’ 2013 elections warning.