Dear Tajamuka/Sesjikile
“After the 2018 disputed elections, we stated categorically clear that the electoral process and its outcome fell abysmally short of a truly free and fair election. As a result, the outcome of the election would be disputed and thus undermine the efficacy of Mnangagwa’s claim to legitimacy. Since the disputed elections we made several appeals to Mnangagwa’s ill-fated government to find an amicable way to resolve the election dispute, ensure and guarantee that the credibility of future elections would not be disputed. Although another election would be the most ideal, it seemed impractical given the economic conditions in the country and the toxicity that elections in Zimbabwe come with,” you said.
“It was therefore our considered view and our clarion call after the January 2019 national protests that Mnangagwa needed to immediately convene a genuine, participatory and all-inclusive national dialogue facilitated by a neutral international mediator and underwritten by SADC and the AU.”
There are a number of key points to note:
1) Agree with you 100% that the July 2018 elections were NOT free, fair and credible elections. There is no disputing the blatant flaws and illegalities were deliberate and calculated to deny the people of Zimbabwe their democratic right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. There was no excuse for denying 3 million Zimbabwean in the diaspora the vote, for failing to produce a verified voters’ roll, etc., etc. None.
2) There is no denying Mnangagwa and Zanu PF blatantly rigged last July’s elections and, what is more, this is not the first time the regime has rigged elections. Zanu PF has rigged elections starting with the first all races elections in 1980; it is a historic fact that Zanu PF did not withdraw all its freedom fighters to assembly points as agree. The operatives were then deployed to remind the electorate that the civil war would restart if Zanu PF lost the elections. Zanu PF has continued for the last 39 years to cheat, intimidate and use wanton violence to make sure the party retained its iron grip on power.
3) Each time Zanu PF has rigged the elections we, the people have allowed the regime to stay in power to appease the party leaders. This was a foolish thing to do because Zanu PF has taken full advantage of our folly to erode the people’s freedoms and rights even more to consolidate its undemocratic stay in power. When we say we demand free, fair and credible elections we must mean it and stand solid as a rock and refuse to be moved until our demand is met. The consequences of blatantly rigging elections must surely be that the guilty party is illegitimate and must never be allowed to rule, period.
4) The tragic mess is Zimbabwe today is proof that 39 years of appeasing Zanu PF did not work and it is madness to continue to do so for even one more day! Enough is enough!
5) We have no legitimate government as a consequence of the country failing to hold free, fair and credible elections on 30 July 2018. The solution is to appoint an interim administration to implement the democratic reforms to guarantee free, fair and credible elections. There is no point holding new elections without first dismantling the de facto one party dictatorship and its dictatorial powers.
6) Yes the country is facing some serious economic hardship brought on by the worsening economic meltdown. However, it is naïve to believe that allowing Zanu PF to remain in power even in a GNU with MDC A will help end the economic hardship. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs, adding corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders to the mix will not change the character of the regime; there will be no meaningful economic recovery!
7) Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF friends know that they have messed up big time and they will never win free, fair and credible elections. If the party is entrusted with implementing the democratic reform then no meaningful reforms will be implemented. Zanu PF will reform itself out of office. If Zanu PF is in power come 2023 then we can be 100% certain the party will rig those elections to extend its stay in power.
Tajamuka, Sesjikile means “We are enlightened!” Well, I hope you are enlightened! As we all know, some people have been foaming round the mouth shouting “Zimbabwe is open for business!” when, by rigging the elections, they are the ones who slammed the door shut and locked it!
Best regards
Nomusa Garikai.
3 comments:
I do not see how anyone who cannot see that this Political Actors Dialogue forum as nothing more than a watered down version of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Whilst the the members in the former GNU were MPs and cabinet members and the GNU was given a set task - implement the raft of democratic reforms and write a new democratic constitution - and had SADC to supervise them. Still the GNU failed to get even one reform implemented.
The members of this watered down GNU are not MPs and Mnangagwa has made it very clear that political reforms are taboo and he and he alone will decide what they will talk about and see to it that nothing of substance is ever done. The 2008 GNU failed to implement even one reforms and produced a compromised constitution it has failed to deliver any of our freedoms and human rights including free, fair and credible elections. This political abomination will accomplish nothing and certainly not the free, fair and credible elections in 2023.
If Zanu PF is still in power in 2023 the party will rig those elections. Mnangagwa is using this Political Actors Dialogue as a smokescreen to remain in office until then. We must not allow that to happen.
ZIMBABWE MUST HAVE FREE< FAIR AND CREDIBLE ELECTIONS IN 2023! That is our Holy Grail and it is within our reach if we focus and not allow ourselves to be side tracked by foolish gimmicks!
@ Sarah
Chamisa accepted the rigged parliamentary elections as having been free, fair and credible - which as anyone with half a brain would tell you were rigged. What Chamisa has disputed is the presidential results. He has accept the process as having been free, fair and credible and singled out the ZEC results giving Mnangagwa more votes than himself.
Everyone else has condemned the whole process including the ZEC results of all the parliamentary and presidential races because they contained "numerous errors, not traceable, not verifiable and counting and addition was not transparent". Chamisa says he got 2.6 million votes and yet has too failed to produce all the V11 forms, the summary of the vote counts from each Polling Station, because ZEC did not release all the V11. No one can verify Chamisa's claim no more than they can verified ZEC's Mnangagwa vote count.
Chamisa knows the elections were rigged and he is taking advantage of that to push Mnangagwa to give him a gravy train seat. He has never denied that he will not join the dialogue train as soon as the legitimacy problem is resolved. "I have the key to granting Mnangagwa legitimacy!" Chamisa has boasted.
Give him a gravy train seat and he will declare the 2018 elections free, fair and credible including the presidential race just as all the other opposition parties have done!
Chamisa can join the Political Actors Dialogue with his five point plan but the forum will accomplish nothing because it is a talk-shop. Mnangagwa would want Chamisa to join the other opposition parties in the forum just to shut him up!
If we, the people of Zimbabwe, are serious about wanting free, fair and credible elections in 2023 then we must see the Political Actors Dialogue for what it is - a time wasting gimmick!
The quality of our parliamentary debates is terrible! Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube did not answer any of the questions raised and yet got away with it!
MP Mliswa asked whether the Minister was talking of US$ or RTGS$.
"The US$ apply prior to the Monetary Policy Statement and RTGS$ apply post the Monetary Policy Statement. What we have to do if you want to compare like with like is to convert the past GDPs back up to 2009 into RTGS$ as well, then we can compare like with like going forward," answered the Minister.
So why did the Minister convert to whatever and so allow everyone to compare like with like?
The issue of how parastatals are going to be sold is a big issue and the Minister did not even answer that question. There is a real danger of parastatals being sold to Zanu PF cronies for a song and then wasted just as we have seen happen with the seized white farms.
Parliament should insist that no parastatal will be sold until there is an agreed process to make sure everything is transparent and open to meaningful competition. But given the sorry quality of our illegitimate MPs - we must not forget last July's elections were rigged - that is asking for too much!
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