“Yes, we will embrace President Robert Mugabe if he wins free and fair polls,” USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton told reporters.
Mr. Ambassador, if you are resolved to accept a free and fair election and nothing but then you may just as well tell Mugabe right now that Mugabe victory will not be accepted because there is clear evidence already that he is cheating.
There are many reports of the Police disrupting opposition party rallies and of soldiers harassing and intimidating the electorate.
Zanu PF still maintains its struggle hold over the public media and the private media is still muzzled by repressive laws like POSA and AIPPA.
The country's voters’ roll is still in shambles; many voters will be denied their right to vote because their names are still not on the roll whilst the names of many dead people are still on it - in Zimbabwe the dead have been known to “voted”. And so the list goes on!
How can the elections be judged free and fair when Zanu PF thugs are allowed to terrorize the people. The people have yet to hear PM Tsvangirai, let alone anyone else outside the Mugabe, speak on the national radio and see him on ZBCTV.
The security sector reforms to end the violence, media reforms to create a free and independent media and all the other democratic reforms agreed in the GPA should have been implemented a long time ago so that an atmosphere conducive for free and fair election was created at least six months before elections.
It is a great pity that more innocent Zimbabweans have to be beaten and, as happened in 2008, possibly hundreds murdered for the world to then admit the elections were not free and fair!
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‘The police have shown no enthusiasm to deal robustly with violence by ZANU PF linked individuals or groups and one wonders the reason for this reluctance,’ MDC MP for Kwe Kwe, Settlement Chikwinya asked. These Kwe Kwe thugs hacked an innocent man to death only a few months ago and no one was ever arrested and punished. And the MP should supporters are being butchered does not know why the Police are doing nothing about it! Well, is it any wonder we are in this political mess and, with MPs like, we will never get out of the mess!
Zimbabweans have been desperate to get rid of Mugabe; so desperate they would "vote for a donkey" if the choice was between Mugabe or the donkey as Professor Jonathan Moyo once said. Desperate people do desperate things, indeed. Given all the chances to end Mugabe's rule Tsvangirai has wasted in the last ten years Zimbabweans have to now realize that they cannot afford to ignore the crying need for electing quality leaders. The nation has paid dearly for Tsvangirai's blunderings. He and most of his MDC friends are taking advantage of the nation’s desperation, they have no leadership qualities and it is folly to keep pretending anyone, even a blundering idiot, can ouster someone a ruthless and cunning as Mugabe.
I once saw a natural world film and it left such a vivid imprint on my mind. The scene show a young Zebra, decided lost and frightened, walking in a pitch black stormy night. There was a big flash of lightening, one of those that turns pitch blackness into brightness of the brightest day, and the young zebra found himself smack in the middle of a pride of lions. The lions were just as surprised to see the zebra. The heavy rains, the rumble of thunder and the chorus of frogs and insects marking the start of the Savannah rainy season had muffled the footsteps of the zebra.
In 2008 the Zimbabwean populous had their whole lives turned upside down by the worst org of political violence the nation had ever been subjected to. The nation was assured that the GNU that was formed after the sham elections would implement democratic reforms to ensure the violence would never be repeated ever again. Sadly none of the reforms have been implemented and the nation, like the young zebra, is straight into yet another bloody election process.
Zimbabweans have known nothing was being done to end the scourge of violence because there was no effort made to implement any of the promised reforms since the formation of the GNU to date. As for the scourge of violence itself it had settled and took root for there were weekly reports of political harassment and beating and every few months someone was murdered. The violence has since stepped up a gear or two with talks of holding fresh elections.
The people of Zimbabwe have the chance to demand that there be no elections until their basic right to free and fair elections and right to life can be solemnly guaranteed in a truly democratic constitution and thus reject the rubbish Copac draft constitution being proposed.
If Zimbabweans accept the Copac draft then then they will be no more than the young zebra walking into the midst of a pride of very hungry lions in broad daylight! The young zebra took full advantage of the lions’ surprise to make a speedy escape. Another violent election process will mean hundreds of thousands of broken limbs and hundreds of body bags!
There is something unnerving when a whole nation blunders straight into an election process they can see from the outset will deny their the vote and a lot more besides like a family of zebras blundering into a pride of hungry lions in broad day light!
@Chimbwido
Well I have to agree with you there other than to add that it is exactly for the same reason that Mugabe is himself surrounded by imbeciles! I add that because we need a complete picture to deal with our political problem.
Zimbabweans took over 15 years to acknowledge Mugabe was a tyrant surrounded by imbeciles because they had focused on getting rid of the white colonial regime and forgot about who they were replacing it with. Having done that, the people are now so focused on getting rid of Mugabe they are failing to see Tsvangirai as the blundering, flawed and indecisive character he is!
Zimbabweans have two eyes, surely we can keep one eye on tyrant like Mugabe and the other on who should replace him!
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