The story goes that a man bought a
horse on the mistaken belief that the animal was a strong animal with many
productive years ahead of it. It was a strong beast alright but did not have
many productive years left; he assumed the animal was six years old when in
fact it twelve years old.
The wise King, before whom the case had
been brought to settle the bitter dispute, asked the man how he had worked out the
horse’s age.
“The horse is a strongly built
animal with bulging muscles so I guessed it was six years old. A week after
taking delivery of the animal I noticed its molars were no more than stump where
a great tree had once proudly stood!”
“Excellent! Excellent!” commented
the wise King. “You had the opportunity to inspect the horse before you paid
for it but chose to judge the animal on the basis of his size and bulging muscles
alone. It was your fault!”
“Caveat emptor!” Latin for “Let the
buyer beware!” The buyer buys “as is” complete with all the defects; it is for
the buyer to examine, judge and test the good and satisfy himself or herself of
its suitability for the purpose or need.
If no
GPA reforms are implemented BEFORE the next elections, as happened in the 2013
elections, then Mugabe will once again rig the elections. “Caveat populo!” (Let
the people beware!)
Zimbabwean
elections are infamous for the horse trading after each election. The
opposition always complain that the elections were rigged and Zanu PF, with the
feigned angelic innocence of the devil’s imp, countered claimed that the
elections were free, fair and credible. If people take part in the next election
with no implemented reforms it is their fault; they must not complain after the
elections that they were rigged because they knew up front Mugabe would rig the
elections.
In the
2013 elections SADC leaders, amongst many others, literally begged Morgan
Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to take part in the election without
implementing the GPA reforms; MDC ignored the warning. They took part in the elections
with their tails raised high like a warthog, bristling with enthusiasm and
confidence the party will have land slide electoral victory.
Warthog tail up, bristling with enthusiasm
and appetite for life.
“We in the MDC were wrong in
participating in that (2013 general) election,” admitted the deflated Morgan
Tsvangirai after Mugabe blatantly rigged the vote to register landslide victory
for himself and Zanu PF. “On the assumption and belief that the sheer numbers
of Zimbabweans would overwhelm whatever shenanigans Zanu PF had planned to subvert
the will of the people.”
Tsvangirai, MDC and the nation at
large were warned, without implementing the reforms first, Mugabe would rig the
elections. The warning was valid before the 2013 elections it is still valid
today.
Instead of implementing the GPA
reforms Tsvangirai and his party have come up alternative electoral law
reforms, listed in the party’s National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA);
wishy-washy reforms which will never deliver free and fair election even if
Zanu PF was to implement them. A few days ago; after two and half years since
the rigged July 2013 of time wasting on NERA, MDC-T has now admitted implementing
NERA alone will not deliver free and fair elections.
“Whilst the MDC welcomes any moves
to ensure and guarantee the holding of a free and fair plebiscite in 2018,”
wrote MDC-T spokesman, Obert Gutu. He was welcoming the Zanu PF government’s announcement
that the country will have the biometric voting system ready for the next
elections (one NERA demand).
“Once the impartiality and
independence of ZEC is placed in doubt, Zimbabwe can never hold free
and fair elections that can pass the test of legitimacy,” he continued, getting
to the meat of the problem.” It is a notorious fact that since the year 2000,
all elections that have been held in this country have been hugely disputed.”
ZEC’s impartially and independence will
only be restore by implementing the GPA reforms. The same is true with all the
other institutions like the Police, Judiciary, etc.
“Zimbabwe can simply not afford the
luxury of holding another disputed election in 2018.Without holding a free
and fair election that is credible, it is virtually impossible to extricate
Zimbabwe from the prevailing political turmoil and socio-economic collapse,” concluded
Gutu.
Here are the two explicit national demands
(it would have been too much to expect MDC-T to be explicit even in the light
of their “later day enlightenment) to Mugabe and his Zanu PF cabal:
a)
They must accept they have failed to
govern the country and accept the full implementation of all the GPA reforms followed
by the holding of free, fair and credible elections. This is the only way the
country is going to end the worsening economic meltdown that is dragging the
nation dangerous close to the precipice.
b)
Mugabe and Zanu PF must accept the
appointment of an independent body to implement the GPA reforms; it is naïve to
think Mugabe can be trusted to fully and judiciously implement the reform.
To pile on the pressure on Mugabe to
accept the above demands the people of Zimbabwe, the opposition parties in all
their myriad variations and povo wherever they are, must now pledge that they
will never again take part in an elections in Zimbabwe until the GPA reforms
are fully implemented.
Mugabe has a war chest full of cash
from the wholesale looting and plundering of the nation’s resources by this
regime’s ruling elite. He got $2 billion from the looting in Marange in 2012
alone, according to Partnership Africa, a Canadian NGO monitoring the illicit
trade of diamonds. With all this money he has bankrolled very elaborate vote
rigging schemes; for the 2013 he has paid NIKUV, the Israeli company notorious
for corrupting voters roll, a princely sum of $10 million for its services! Over
and above this Mugabe commandeers all the state resource we wants top up on
what he has already.
MDC-T and all the other opposition
parties have very little money; indeed most of them are stone-broke! The only
reason some opposition parties have continued to take part in such elections is
for scraps Mugabe throws at them; to give the electoral process some semblance
of a democratic contest Mugabe has allowed the opposition to “win” a few seats.
What the people must do is chastise the
opposition politicians continue to grant the Zanu PF regime some measure of
legitimacy for the sake of the scraps; this nation cannot afford to continue turning
a blind eye on those who run with the hare and hunt with the hounds especial
when the very stability and survival of the nation is at stake!
The people of Zimbabwe have waited
for 36 year now for free, fair and credible elections. Whilst they waited, this
corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship has dragged the whole nation deeper
and deeper into this hell-on-earth. Enough is enough; there is absolutely no excuse
why the people should have to wait even one more election before they can
finally enjoy their God given right to a free and meaningful vote.
Zimbabwe’s next election WILL be
free, fair and credible; we WILL implement all the democratic reforms BEFORE
the said election to be absolutely sure it is indeed free and fair. Any other
fraudulent elections with Mugabe free to rigs such election will not count.
We have had a very good look over of
the Zanu PF horse, we are not fooled with the dyed coat or the puffed up
muscles pumped full of Botox; the horse is half-dead already and we do not want
it!
Caveat populo! If you vote in the
present system, your vote will be counted as a vote for Zanu PF whether you
voted for Zanu PF or not and the party has ways of multiplying to increase the
Zanu PF votes whilst dividing to reduce the opposition’s votes. If push comes
to shove, Zanu PF will not hesitate to use violence to secure election victory.
The only way to end this system is by insisting on implementing the GPA reforms
Mugabe agreed to in 2008 but were never implemented during the GNU!
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