Tuesday 21 February 2017

Biti resolve to contest flawed elections "unshaken" after arsonist attack - we want free elections. By P Guramatunhu

“Zimbabwe’s former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti’s rural homestead has been burnt down by suspected Zanu PF arsonists,” screamed the headlines!

Whilst every peace-loving Zimbabwean will join in the condemnation of the barbaric act of burning Biti’s home it is hard to deny that this is in fact part and parcel of Zanu PF’s dirty election tactics. We cannot deny the reality of Zanu PF’s culture of political violence and vote rigging.

The whole purpose of implementing the raft of democratic reforms during the GNU was to end this perverse culture of violence and vote rigging once and once for all! It is a great pity that Tendai Biti and his fellow MDC friends allowed themselves to be bought-off with the trappings of political office and failed to implement even one reform.

Mr Biti and his MDC friends had the option to withdraw from contesting the 2013 elections and force the implementation of the democratic reforms but again failed to do the right thing for selfish personal reasons as Senator David Coltart has his admitted.

“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,” explained Senator Coltart in his recent book.

“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.”

Zanu PF’s vote rigging juggernaut is a fine-tuned machine thanks to the billions of dollars that are pouring in from the wholesale looting and plunder taking place in Marange and Chiadzwa. Zanu PF members’ hunger for political power and the wealth it has brought them in insatiable. Zanu PF may have their own internal problems but their resolve to rig the 2018 elections and stay in power is rock solid.

Grace Mugabe’s boast that even “a corpse” of Mugabe will win next year’s elections is not as hollow and naïve as some people have been quick to say. Only three weeks ago Zanu PF thugs, Village Heads and Chiefs corralled villagers in the Bikita West by-elections to give the party’s candidate a resounding 78% electoral victory. As long as the party retains the total control of all State institutions, total control of every aspect of the whole electoral process and, above all else, unfettered access to the nation’s wealth and resources to bankroll its most devious and no-expense-spared vote rigging schemes; Zanu PF will be unbeatable.

Zimbabwe’s elections are so flawed, Zanu PF has carte blanche license to rob the nation blind to bankroll its political activities, to harass, beat and rape the electorate and even murder some – over 30 000 have been murdered already. Tendai Biti and his fellow opposition friends have turned a blind to all this madness and ever provided the regime the smokescreen to hide its lawlessness and tyrant by participating in the elections regardless.

If boycotting the 2013 elections was the “obvious” thing to do; boycotting the 2018 elections until reforms are implemented is the ONLY thing to do.

“However, despite these attempts on the life of the PDP leader, President Biti and the entire PDP family remain unshaken and resolute as we prepare for the watershed 2018 elections,” said the party statement.

Tendai Biti, his PDP family and all the other opposition politicians hell-bend on contesting the 2018 elections are doing so for their own selfish person ambition of winning the few seats Zanu PF throws away as bait, as Senator Coltart rightly pointed out. They are not advancing the national cause to implement the democratic reforms so we can finally have the country’s first free, fair and credible elections. Indeed, by their continued participation even when there is overwhelming evidence of the folly of doing so, they are now actively undermining efforts to implement the reforms.

Tendai Biti & co. are not doing the nation any favours by contesting flawed elections and they must stop patronising the people with all their lying and nonsense talk of selfless sacrifice. MDC leaders sold-out during the GNU and they are still doing so today, given half a chance.

The key question Tendai Biti & co. must now answer what else does Zanu PF have to do to finally convince you the elections are flawed and thus finally force you to boycott the election until reforms are implemented? 

5 comments:

Zimbabwe Light said...

I used to hold Tendai Biti in high regard, especially after the skilful way he handled Margaret Dongo's challenge of the rigged Harare South vote in the 1995 elections. I was surprise that him any a few others like David Coltart, whom I thought were principled and intelligent too, compromised themselves by electing Tsvangirai leader of MDC bringing along with him a whole army of deadwood.

It was during the five years of the GNU that I finally realised that I was wrong, Tendai Biti, David Coltart and the rest were as incompetent, corruptible and useless as everyone else in MDC. There was no excuse whatsoever why not even one democratic reform was not implemented in five years of the GNU, anyone of the leaders could have initiated the reforms. Any one! The fact that not even people like Biti, who were involved in drafting the GPA and therefore knew that the principle purpose of the agreement was to implement reforms to stop a repeat of the 2008 elections, did nothing; goes to show just how utterly corrupt they are.

Tendai Bite knew that, with no reforms in place, Zanu PF was going to rig the 2013 elections. He still took part in those elections for the same reasons everyone else did - to win those few seat Mugabe gave away. Of course, Senator Coltart was right that the obvious thing to have done in 2013 was to withdraw from the rat race and force the implementation of the reforms.

Tendai Biti is determined to contest the 2018 elections for the same reason as in 2013 - greed! He is using the burning down of his homestead to make it appear as if this is his heroic sacrifice for his steady fast for change when in reality it is a sacrifice to his insatiable greed. Biti would certain walk over the dead bodies of hundreds if not thousands of innocent Zimbabweans murdered by Zanu PF just to get back on the gravy train. His hope is none of them will be his own family and, God forbid, he is himself one of them.

This nation would have been better saved if corrupt and murderous tyrants like Mugabe and corrupt and incompetent village idiots like Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti were never born! Sadly they were born and now they are the ones charting the destiny of us all - it is incumbent on us all to remove them from office and make sure they will never again hold public office!

Zimbabwe Light said...

If Masiyiwa wanted to be involved in politics then he must have the common sense to see there absolutely nothing to be gained by taking over a party like MDC-T of ZimPF. These parties are stuffed full of some of the most corrupt and incompetent individuals, with a proven track record of being so. These people are wooing him to lead them today but as soon as he agrees, they will be desperate to hang on to their own leadership position they will be leading him by the nose like a bull in the market!

MDC-T and ZimPF are the sower's ear if Masiyiwa thinks he can make a silk purse out of that then he is more naive that I thought!

The recent rumours that Masiyiwa was thinking of throwing his hat in to the political arena but have send a panic wave into the opposition camp. The one thing Tsvangirai , Mutasa and others fear is quality opposition setting up their stall because they know they will never compete. As long as they can lure the quality into their own party they know they will benefit from having some quality to cover up for all the train-load of mediocrity and crap.

No doubt the like of Tsvangirai and Mutasa will be interested in helping Masiyiwa spend some of his money. Both these gentlemen have huge appetite and are struggling on their present shoe string budgets.

Beside, if the quality leader is in their own camp they will know they are still relevant even if they dilute his talent to nothing!

If Masiyiwa is serious about being involved in Zimbabwe politics then he must have the courage to start his own party and screen the new members very careful because there are hundreds of thousands of political refugees out there desperate to find a political party home!

Zimbabwe Light said...

@ Bring back our flag

True Zanu PF will rig the elections as long as no reforms are implemented regardless of who joins the opposition in their big tent coalition. If you think the issue of implementing the reforms and having free and fair elections is settled, think again; the issue is once again back on the national agenda. 

It is becoming increasingly obvious that these opposition politicians who continue to contest flawed elections are sell-outs who do not care about free and fair elections but only pay lip service to the subject, 

The battle to have free, fair and credible elections is the only fight worth fighting and the fighting has only just begun. This is the fight for freedom, reason, human dignity; the fight for the body and souls of the nation; the fight for the very survival of this nation. There is everything to fight for and withdrawing or surrender are completely out of the question! 

Mugabe is used to mediocre opponents like Mujuru, Tsvangirai, Mnangagwa, etc. whom he has bamboozled with his bullshit, bribed, cheated and even murdered others. Well in the fight for free and fair elections the tyrant will soon discover there are no pushovers!

Zimbabwe Light said...

@ Nomazulu

Anyone who contest in a flawed election process knowing the process is flawed is a down right traitor in my books! We have a train-load of traitors on both sides of the political divide without adding more to that list! 

If we are ever going to get out of this hell-on-earth Mugabe and his thugs have landed us in then we need people with integrity and a generous doze of common sense - common sense to know it is insane to continue contesting flawed elections and expecting a different result! 

The common sense to know that just because Tsvangirai et al failed to get even one democratic reform implemented during the GNU does not mean we do not need the reforms implemented. We do and the need is more urgent now than ever before!

Zimbabwe Light said...

“The majority of the people feel that there is no replacement, a successor, who to them is acceptable, as acceptable as I am,” said Mugabe.

This is utter nonsense and must be dismissed with the contempt it rightly deserves!

Mugabe has never held free, fair and credible elections in his Zimbabwe so who are these people who say he is the acceptable leader of the nation? The hooded hired youths who were bussed from one polling station to the next to cast multiple vote we all saw on YouTube. Those who are in denial of Zanu PF blatant vote rigging must google “Tendai Biti witness vote rigging in Zimbabwe”. The YOUTUBE record is there for posterity!

Mugabe is insisting that he is fit to rule although he is not. The country is in a real mess thanks to his 37 years of incompetent and corrupt rule. The tyrant has murdered over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans in order to create and retain the de facto one-party cum one-man dictatorship we have today.

If Mugabe was to learn today that next year’s elections are definitely going to be FREE, FAIR and CREDIBLE he will not be Zanu PF’s candidate for the presidency because he knows he will be facing certain humiliating defeat!

Mugabe has been thanking his ancestors for puppets like Morgan Richard Tsvangirai because if the later had implemented the reforms during the GNU, the tyrant would not be in State House today messing all our lives!

We know Tsvangirai and his fellow opposition politicians are lying that their coalition will stop Zanu PF rigging the 2018 elections. We must pressure these sell-out opposition politicians to stop contesting flawed elections! There is still have nearly a year and half before the next elections, enough time to force through our demands for free, fair and credible elections. A week is a long time is politics, we must make the next one and half years the toughest period of Mugabe’s whole 93 years on this earth by making it clear that free and fair elections are now firmly back on the national agenda!