Four
years ago, on 16 and 17 March 2013, the people of Zimbabwe voted in a
referendum to approve a new constitution, which, Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC’s
friends assured us would deliver free, fair and credible elections. It failed
to deliver free and fair elections as Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the July
2013 elections.
MDC
leaders’ excuse for Zanu PF rigging the elections was that the country’s
existing laws needed to be realigned with the new constitution. MDC-T promised
that it will get Zanu PF “kicking and screaming” to carry out the necessary
electoral law reforms in time for the next elections in 2018.
Zimbabwe
is facing a serious economic meltdown and unemployment has soared to nauseating
heights of 95% forcing millions of our people into a life of abject poverty.
The country needs desperately needs a competent government to address its
underlying economic problems and to have a competent government we must have free
and fair elections. We want cast iron guarantees the coming elections are going
to be free and fair, we cannot afford another rigged election!
It is
therefore very frustrating that instead of giving us the guarantees of free and
fair elections MDC-T is giving us excuses.
“We
are extremely disappointed that almost four years now after the people
delivered a new home grown constitution, the government has done nothing to
operationalise that constitution,” Douglas Mwonzora, MDC-T secretary general
told New Zimbabwe.
“Less
than five percent … virtually nothing has been done and where attempts have
been done to operationalise it has been on such a peaceful basis that the new
law makes no meaning at all.”
President
Mugabe accented the new constitution into law on 22 May 2013.
So if
the new constitution is the supreme law of the law surely if does not require so
other supplementary law to “operationalise” it and give it effect. The truth is
the new constitution is weak and feeble it calls for free and fair elections
but fails to rein the State President’s present dictatorial to guarantee the
independence of ZEC, for example. MDC leaders were warned of this at the time
but ignored the warns.
The
bottom line for the people of Zimbabwe is that with no meaningful reforms in
place, Zanu PF will rig the 2018 elections just as easily as the party rigged
the 2013 elections!
After
the rigged July 2013 elections Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends promised
the nation that they will not contest any more future elections until reforms
are implemented to ensure free and fair elections. It is for this reason that
MDC-T and the other MDC factions have not contested any of the by-elections post
the July 2013 elections. Sadly all the MDC leaders have now changed their
minds, they are going to contest the 2018 even thou not even one reform has
been implemented for the same selfish reason Senator David Coltart admitted in
2013.
“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.”
MDC
leaders betrayed the nation by failing to implement the necessary democratic
reforms to guarantee free, fair and credible elections during the GNU. They
knew that if they had boycotted the 2013 elections they would have forced Zanu
PF to accept the implementation of the reforms. They went ahead and contested
the flawed elections for selfish reasons. We desperately need free and fair
elections next year and we must not allow MDC leaders to discard their “No
reform , no elections!” Come what may!
5 comments:
MDC-T did nothing, absolutely nothing to ensure the 2013 elections were free and fair; they lied to the people of Zimbabwe when they were asked about this before the 2013 elections.
It is a nonsense to expect the ordinary people to understand the complexities of the constitution, particularly when it was the politicians themselves who came up with a time table giving the people no time to study the proposed constitution. So, to argue that the people voted for the new constitution as if to say by voting yes they, the people, not MDC leaders who talked them into voting yes, are to blame for the failure to deliver the free and fair elections.
If MDC leaders knew it was necessary to realign existing laws to the new constitution for it to deliver free and fair elections then why did they contest the 2013 elections before this realignment was done?
It is a matter of public record that SADC leaders warned MDC leaders not to participate in the 2013 elections without implementing the reforms. Why did the MDC leaders ignore the warning? If less than 5% of the new constitution is operational then why is MDC-T participating in the 2018 elections?
Tsvangirai and his MDC friends sold-out during the GNU by failing to implement the reforms and again by contesting a flawed 2013 elections. Zimbabweans will only have ourselves to blame if we allow these corrupt and incompetent opposition sell-outs betray us again by contesting in next year's elections knowing fully well the elections will be rigged!
@ Super mondo
The new constitution was supposed to be a democratic constitution taking away all Zanu PF's dictatorial powers. If President Mugabe is still a dictator able to rig elections at will, which he is, then MDC leaders lied to the nation that this was a democratic constitution.
@ el calbrito
A strong constitution should not have to rely on supplementary legislation to give it teeth because, as the supreme law, it is the one that give all supplementary laws teeth! Mwonzora and company lied that the new constitution was the democratic constitution we wanted and continues to lie to this day.
Zanu PF MP Paul Mangwana who was the party’s representative on the constitution drafting committee has boasted that President Mugabe “dictated” the new constitution. It is naïve to expect a dictator to dictate a democratic constitution to take away his dictatorial powers!
Mwonzora and company have been wittering about the need to realign existing laws to the new constitution and making it operational and yet they cannot give even one example of the realignment and/or activation they want. We should not waste our time engaging these MDC-T sell-outs on asking them to provide details of the reforms, let them do all the wittering they want, what we must demand from them is the cast iron guarantees that they will not drag the nation into yet another election that will be rigged!
We are in this hell-hole in which the economy is in a real mess and the nation is paralysed politically to do anything about it because we failed to hold free and fair elections in 2013. We must make sure the next elections are free and fair without fail!
First Mai Mujuru denied any knowledge of Gukurahundi massacres which was a lie since the killing took place over a five year period and left over 20 000 dead. Even the rural people with no access to newspapers, radio and hardly hear anything outside their immediate area knew Mugabe had fallen out with Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu party and that there was fighting in some parts of the country.
She finally admitted that she knew about Gukurahundi but would not accept that, as a cabinet minister, she should have said and done something to stop the madness. Her argument that she said something but was ignored was feeble because she should have resigned in protest.
She then accepted "collective responsibility" for what happened but was wriggling out on the shaky grounds that Gukurahundi massacre were carried out by the Fifth Brigade, a crack unit which was not part of the regular army and subject to "executive orders". This has only helped to show just how naive and shallow she is because as a government official she should know that her job was to protect the public regardless of where the threat was coming from.
If there was any doubt that Mai Mujuru is corrupt and incompetent and thus unsuitable to hold the office of the presidency before the HardTalk interview there was no such doubt at the end of the interview! The few individuals who have supported her as a candidate must be hanging their heads in shame.
Less than 5% of the reforms have been implemented and NERA are demanding that UNPD should be allowed to buy this new voting system as if that alone constitutes the remaining 95% when it will contribute 2% at most!
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