One of the problems in Zimbabwe today is people who are
peddling nonsense as wisdom, here is one example.
Prominent businessman Shingi Munyeza accepts that Zanu PF
has been rigging elections and hence the need for reforms to even the political
playing field.
He pointed out that Zanu PF was not going to implement any
reforms that will lead to it losing power.
“Many are looking forward to an evening of the playing field
by those in power; this is wishful think. There is never anyone in power who
would be silly enough to transform themselves out of power,” he said and
rightly so too. If this, he shoots off at a complete tangent!
“All I can say is that the 2018 elections will be more
significant than 2008. They will usher in a new era in our political history as
well as our destiny as a nation. It would be irresponsible for a Zimbabwean of
a voting age not to register and participate in this crucial destiny-changing
moment,” he argued.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2013 elections and with still
not even one democratic reform implemented since then it is clear the regime
will do the same again. It was not the first time that President Mugabe had
rigged the elections; anyone familiar with Zimbabwe politics will tell you the
tyrant rigged the 1980 elections and has rigged all the other elections that
have followed.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and
expecting different results,” said Albert Einstein, the great Physicist.
Shingi Munyeza may be a very successful businessman – the owner
of the upmarket Ocean Basket and News Café restaurants franchises in Zimbabwe –
but when it comes to politics; he is clearly mentally insane!
One can understand why opposition politicians like Morgan
Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti and the whole army of others who are already feverishly
preparing to contest in next year elections; they are all fighting over the few
seats Zanu PF has been dishing out as bait to the opposition. Opposition MDC-N
candidate in the 2013 elections, then Senator David Coltart explained the opposition
candidates’ motive very bluntly in his book.
“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.
“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.”
All the MDC factions has since the rigged elections agreed with
Senator Coltart that boycotting the flawed elections made sense. They all
resolved not to contest in any future elections until the reforms to stop vote
rigging are implemented.
In other words, the opposition candidates are participating
in the flawed elections because they, unlike the insane Munyeza, are under any
illusions winning the election; they are contesting to win the few seats Zanu
PF gives away to the opposition as bait and for the bragging rights of being
the country’s biggest opposition party. Tsvangirai and his friends needs to
convince the naïve and insane Zimbabwe public that they can still win the
flawed elections and thus deliver the “crucial destiny-changing moment” put
that is only a class act.
What people like Munyeza have complete failed to comprehend
is the fact that the ordinary person has everything to lose and nothing to gain
from all this political charade and madness. Just as the opposition renders a
measure of democratic legitimacy to the flawed process by participating the
public also gives the opposition a measure of legitimacy as genuine opposition parties
with a public following by attending opposition rallies and meetings.
The Zimbabwe electorate must withdraw their public support
to all opposition parties that continue to contest in these flawed elections. The
electorate must demand that the opposition honour their “No reform, no
election!” resolution!
It is true that Zanu PF will never implement democratic
reforms without being forced to do so just as it is true that, given the
freedom to rig elections, Zanu PF will never lose the said elections. People must
stop listening to the irrational nonsense of those who accept the rational of
the first proposition but will not accept the rational of the second.
7 comments:
So Munyeza accepts that Zanu PF will never reform itself out of power, accepts that with no reforms in place the party will rig the vote just as it did in 2013 but, and here is where his insanity kicks in, he expects the party to go on and lose the 2018 elections!
The solution here is obvious, we must stop contesting flawed elections and then expecting miracles to happen. We have a right to free and fair elections, it is not a privilege that Zanu PF can give to some and deny others, and we must demand it as such and never accept anything else. What better way of demanding our right than protesting and boycotting flawed elections!
@ Nyambira
“However, as President Mugabe pursues plans for his Dynasty the only way to stop his plans and to get out of this Crisis is for the Opposition Parties to come together and form a Grand Alliance fir the 2018 General Elections to challenge the Dominance of Zanu PF,” you tell us.
This is a stupid argument we have all heard a thousand times in the last week alone from people who have run out of ideas and are now repeating the same stupid lie in the hope that a lie repeated often enough will gain currency!
Darlington Nyambiya, do you accept that Zanu PF rigs elections? You should because there is a mountain of evidence out there saying that elections are rigged. The next thing we must do is establish the extend of the vote rigging.
In the 2008 elections Morgan Tsvangirai polled 73% of the votes, by President Mugabe’s own admission, in the March election. ZEC were instructed to recount the votes and after six weeks announced that Tsvangirai had 47% and forcing the presidential run-off. Common sense will tell you ZEC are in Zanu PF’s pocket and cooked the result to suit Zanu PF.
In the run-off, President Mugabe launched a military style Operation “Mavhotera papi!” (Whom did you vote for!) in which the electorate were harassed, beaten, raped and over 500 murdered as punishment for having voted for Tsvangirai in the March vote. Needless to say, the people voted as instructed and President Mugabe overhauled Tsvangirai’s 73% to win with a warping 85%.
Zanu PF controls every State Institution including the Police, ZEC, Public Media, etc. and it unfettered access to state resources including billions of dollars looted from Marange to bankroll its vote rigging schemes. Zanu PF’s vote rigging powers are so great the party can overhaul their opponent’s popular support with ease as we have seen. Therefore, to ignore the facts on the ground of Zanu PG rigging elections and talk of the need for the opposition to unite as if they have been losing elections because the opposition vote is divided is downright stupid.
Zimbabwe cannot afford another rigged elections and therefore needs to deal with the problem of vote rigging and stop bury our heads in the sand and pretend a united opposition will solve the problem!
Zanu PF's has the total control of every aspect of the whole electoral process from start to finish because it has corrupted ZEC, the Police, Public Media, judiciary and the other State institutions, they are all working to stop regime change at all cost. These institutions do not care about the niceties of upholding the individual freedoms and delivering free and fair elections.
And, to crown it all, Zanu PF has the war-chest of cash, mainly from billions of dollars looted from Marange diamonds, to bankroll all dirty vote rigging schemes. Meanwhile everyone else is facing really tough economic hardships; the opposition have no money to finance even the most basic election campaign and the electorate are so poor they are even more susceptible to the party's threats and vote-buying tactics.
Mugabe has perfected his vote rigging scheme it is like playing dice with someone not just with a loaded dice but one with six on all the six sides! It is foolish to bet against him throwing anything else than a six! It is sheer madness to gamble not just one’s future but that of one’s family and the whole nation on Mugabe being allowed to rig the elections as he please and then expect the tyrant to lose!
I agree with you, the opposition politicians contesting these elections are doing so for the sake of winning the few seats Mugabe gives away. They know Mugabe will get his landslide victory and they do not care that they are helping perpetuate the dictatorship. Tsvangirai and his MDC friends did not care about implementing the reforms during the GNU because Mugabe bribed them and as long as the tyrant throws a few gravy train seats for them, they will continue to contest in the elections no matter how flawed the process becomes.
You are spot-on that the real lunatics are the ordinary people who continue to gamble everything even their very lives on the throw of a dice in which they know they are certain to lose but have yet to realise that no normal dice has six on all six sides!
@ Nyambira]]
The real gimmick here is that you should fail to appreciate that Zanu PF has not been winning elections because the opposition is divided but because Zanu PF is able to rig the whole system.
You have heard of playing with a loaded dice but what Mugabe is able to do is the equivalent of having a dice with six on all the six sides. Only a fool would bet on Mugabe failing to throw a six! After 37 years of being cheated, of Mugabe throwing a six and winning the elections it is sad that it has not yet occurred to you that Mugabe is rigging the vote! How is that possible, I do not know, but there it is!!!
It is after listening to people like Nyambiya that one only begin to understand why we are in such a mess as a nation. Mugabe has been playing with a dice with six on all the six sides and for 37 years our friend has never noticed it. He is now asking the whole nation to bet they very lives of Mugabe failing to throw another six!
@ Gandanga
If you agree with her that the big problem here is that President Mugabe has all the political power and financial finesse to rig the election and win regardless of what the electorate want these the solution must be and can only be to take away his undemocratic powers.
“Don’t tell me political reforms,” you said. No wonder you are lost, you do not want to hear even what even you in your own shallow mindedness have been able to see as logical!
“Tsvangirai invades Mugabe’s backyard,” screamed Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai’s spokesman.
This gives the impression that there are indeed no go areas for the opposition! The blundering incompetence of MDC it shocking!
“The opinion leaders proffered understandable skepticism on issues as opposition alliances and the prospect of a free, fair and credible elections,” you said.
And sadly, Tsvangirai has had no reassuring answers on any of the issues. How typical.
By the way Luke, no one is fooled by your spin on Tsvangirai’s failure to attract many people to his meetings. Calling the small audience “opinion leaders” gives the impression you have been very selective on who would attend when the reality is the exact opposition; we invited everyone but very few bothered to attend – proof MDC-T has lost popular public support.
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