Mugabe's arrogance has force Zuma to demand free elections - still Mugabe has the trump card!

Everyone can see there can not be free and fair elections in Zimbabwe in the current environment. This is so not because the nation has not been given the time to create the right political environment and hence the call for elections to be post pone to next year. This GNU has had over two years already to prepare for fresh elections and the political environment is worse now than ever. Yes the nation has no money but there is no cause to believe its financial position will any better next year.

We are in this situation because there was no political will to create an environment in which there could be free elections. It is not in Mugabe's interest to do so and Tsvangirai lacked the common sense to push for meaningful reform.

SADC, particularly President Zuma’s kid-glove handling of Mugabe has been pathetic. The Zimbabwean tyrant has repaid the favour by poking his finger right into President Zuma’s eye. Well that definitely did hurt and the South Africans have since taken off the kid-gloves. President Zuma’s name is mud – rightly so too - if he can not deliver free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.

At last President Zuma has finally decided to take Mugabe on. Game on!

Yes the elections must be moved to 2012 or better still 2013. The South Africans will need all the time to push Mugabe to carryout the necessary reforms.

Mugabe will be more determined than ever to resist all democratic reforms because free elections will mean regime change. He can not stand that! His game plan now is to accelerate the writing of the new constitution, hold the referendum and then fresh elections; all before the end of the year! The stampede this will cause will force his critics’ eyes off democratic reforms and with the new constitution and referendum done and dusted President Zuma will have no reason to delay holding elections.

If the worst comes to the worst Mugabe can always withdraw Zanu PF from the GNU sighting lack of progress on lifting of the sanctions, for example. That would trigger elections; the GPA clearly stated that the GNU will collapse if one of the three parties withdrew.

The game is on but it seems Mugabe still holds all the trump cards!