“We are past masters at
misleading everyone – including ourselves, as to what exactly is happening at
any juncture,” wrote MDC-T MP, Eddie Cross in a recent article.
Well that is probably the most truthful
thing MP Cross has ever said in his whole life! The tragedy with truism from
such as he is that he said it but it did not register in his own mind. He is
like a fool who stumbles on some wisdom, he does not appreciate the true value of
what he has stumbled on and thus never profit from it.
“The next elections are certainly
going to be the most contested since we became a sort of a democracy in 1980.
MDC has tried to put an alliance for reform of the electoral playing field and
has had some success. Now it is trying to stitch together a credible coalition
to fight the election and this is going to be launched on Saturday (tomorrow).
I think the grouping that will emerge is quite useful and could be very
powerful in the coming battles, because if we have an election it is going to
be more of a democratic war than an election,” continued MP Cross, just to
prove his mastery at misleading himself, MDC party members and uninitiated
public!
1) MDC has failed to get even one democratic reform
implemented during the GNU when it had the golden opportunity to do so. After
the rigged July 2013 elections, the party vowed not to contest any future
elections until reforms are implemented. “No reform, no elections!” read the
party congress resolution. The party teamed up with other 17 opposition parties
to form NERA to push for reforms.
There have
been no reforms implemented and MDC-T has foolishly decided to contest next
year’s elections regardless and in violation of its own party resolution.
There has
been no “success” in getting a level playing field; you are just misleading
yourself.
2) The coalition that Tsvangirai is trying to “stitch
together” is dead in the water already before it is even launched because MDC-T
members will never agree to giving up their right to contest the elections to
coalition partners. It is no secret that Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube and all
the other opposition parties are keen to join the coalition so they can have a
shot at winning a gravy train seat on the back of MDC-T and other opposition
party supporters.
Biti and
Ncube know them have no chance of winning the presidential race and so, for
them, stepping aside to allow Tsvangirai to run is no sacrifice. They do not
have the no numbers to give them the dominance and confidence of winning but
asking MDC-T candidate to step aside will improve their electoral chances
considerably.
Tsvangirai
has just imposed his will on the rest of his MDC-T colleagues and thus fudging
the coalition. The fight to get MDC-T candidates to step aside will be so
intense that nothing of substance will ever come out of this to call it “useful
and powerful”. MP Cross is only deluding himself.
3) MP Cross is making a mountain out of a mole-hill of
the coalition, even if the opposition could iron out all their coalition problems;
the outcome of the elections was always going to depend on the elections being
free, fair and credible.
The opposition should NOT be
contesting these elections with no reforms in place, period! To say otherwise
is just nonsense.
5 comments:
MDC should have implemented the democratic reforms during the GNU. SADC leaders have suggested that the opposition should not contest the elections without reforms but Tsvangirai would not listen. They did not listen because of greed as one MDC leader has admitted.
“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.”
The solution to Zimbabwe's political mess is not to contest the elections and force the implementation of the reforms. SADC do not have to accept another rigged elections!
Mutezo, Bhasikiti and Mutambara; it is clear that the opposition have lost the plot! MDC is supposed to be a movement for democratic change, what democratic anything can those three Zanu PF thugs bring. Just because they look like chickens that have been caught in a hail-storm; does not mean they are innocent. These are hyenas through and through!
So, how many guaranteed seats did the mingy ZimPF cats ask for? The coalition is not about democracy, free and fair elections, ending the dictatorship, povo, etc.; it is about the opposition sharing the few seats Zanu PF gives away to those who participate in the flawed elections giving the process credibility, as David Coltart admitted 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.”
“Allow me to laugh before I tell you of this one — kikikiki kikikikkikiki, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti and Munacho Mutezo were the bodyguards as Agrippa Mutambara arrived at the venue,” wrote Zimpaper’s Bishop.
“Turi, turi, turi varume vakuru! Even jokers were welcome. Kikikikikiki!”
So, the mingy cats have aged 50 years in the last three years. Well after decades of three course meals and sleeping in silk bed sheets, three years of dried pumpkin leaves and sleeping on the reed mat (rupasa) is bound to take the gloss off. But be fair, the mingy cats are not as worn out and out of it as someone who can stay awake for more than one hour – not even the best doctors in Singapore can do anything for him!
The mingy cats are hanging on to the dream of reviving the dictatorship by hook and by crook – pretending to be democrats must have been tough but a hungry lion will eat grass.
Still, the three mingy cats must have been some sight! I can just imagine them walking on to the stage with a swagger befitting Dumas’ three musketeers. How the pompous have fallen! “Kuseka nhamo semugaro!” as the Shona would say.
Where does MP Cross stand in all this saga within the MDC. Cannot wait to see his next article. Is he going to mislead us all and pretend Ms Khupe attack never happened! If MDC-T splits again just it is in the habit of doing, which faction will MP Cross end up joining this time.
“I think the grouping (MDC Alliance) that will emerge is quite useful and could be very powerful in the coming battles, because if we have an election it is going to be more of a democratic war than an election," said MP Cross.
Where the attack on Mai Khupe was the “democratic war” Cross was expecting or not it is now immaterial; he has a war. The fight over who will be the coalition candidate to contest the gravy train seats is going to test the Alliance to the limit.
There are stories of some filthy rich donors with money to waste – who have been promising Tsvangirai cash if he formed the coalition. Given his own personal circumstance – living in a $ 4 million mansion (his bribe from Mugabe for doing nothing about the reforms) on zero income – and very soon the party will have nothing of value as debtors are stripping it of anything they can take away. No wonder Tsvangirai is giving in to ridiculous demands briefcase opposition parties just to get them to join him in his big tent.
The opposition have no excuse other than greed to contest next year’s elections. The wild-cat fights in the opposition camp is making them lose credibility and so is the whole election!
"There are some in the MDC who are against the coalition, they have been calling me asking why we have conceded some seats to other parties. I have told them point blank that the die has been cast and if anything all seats belong to the people of Zimbabwe. It means nothing to have all parliamentary seats without removing Mugabe. That will not translate to meaningful change to the people," Tsvangirai said to the rapturous applause from the crowd dominated by MDC-T supporters.
In February this year, Khupe was quoted as saying: "I am not against any coalition, but for me, the question that we must ask ourselves is why we want a coalition as a political party. As a political party, when you want a coalition, you would have realised a gap in your party and as the MDC, where is our gap? It is clear our gap is in Mashonaland East, West and Central, where we have consistently not done very well. So, when looking for a coalition partner, you must look for a partner, who is going to be able to cover that gap."
MDC leaders are in politics for the money and political power and not for delivering the democratic changes the people of Zimbabwe have been voting them to bring. They had the golden opportunity to implement the reforms and bring about the democratic changes during the GNU but wasted it.
As SADC leaders have rightly said soon after the rigged 2013 elections; MDC leaders "were busy enjoying being the GNU they forgot why they were there."
Since the rigged July 2013 elections Zanu PF had the upper hand and getting the reforms implemented has become a lot tougher. The only way the reforms could be implemented then was if the opposition refuse to contest the flawed elections and thus deny Zanu PF the legitimacy their participation engenders the process. Zanu PF knew that if the party offered the opposition a few seats on the gravy train it will tempt them to contest the elections no matter how flawed and illegal the process should be.
If the opposition could be bribed to do nothing about implementing the reforms during the GNU when MDC had the tramp cards and SADC leaders on their back it was obvious bribing the opposition to forget boycott the elections would be a lot easier. And that is exactly what has happened.
MDC-T and the rest in the opposition camp have accepted that reality that without reforms Zanu PF will rig the vote. They are contesting the flawed elections for the scraps Zanu PF gives away to entice the opposition to contest. The fighting in the opposition camp is over the scraps!
What the ordinary people want is democratic change leading to free, fair and credible elections, this is the one thing the opposition are not going to deliver. The rigged July 2013 have brought no economic or political gain for the ordinary people because it was all about Zanu PF getting its 2/3 majority and the opposition getting the scraps. It is incumbent on the people to make sure next year’s elections are free and fair and not just another rerun of the July 2013 sham elections.
“We have never been perpetrators of violence and we have never adopted the ZANU(PF) template of violence. We have lost over 500 of supporters and leaders due to political violence. I, for one, have been a victim of violence at the hands of the State, bashed in a police station, in many circumstances left for dead while there been many attempts on my life,” said Tsvangirai.
Whilst it is true that MDC leaders and supporters have been victims of Zanu PF orchestrated violence and thuggery, as has millions of other Zimbabweans from other political parties and the public at large; it is a lie that MDC member have “never been perpetrators of violence”.
Indeed, Morgan Tsvangirai himself has publicly encourage his supporters to “return fire with fire”. Whilst the concept of self-defence is universally accepted there is no deny that MDC members would not be tempted to deliver the pre-emptive strike and then ultimately be the aggressor. There have been too many cases of violence breaking up amongst MDC members themselves to know the futility of “returning fire with fire”.
Worse still, MDC leaders wasted the opportunity to implement the democratic reforms which would have resulted in the Police, the Judiciary and all the other State Institutions getting their power and independence, stolen away from them by this Zanu PF dictatorship, to carry out their respective duties in keeping law and order. We would not be living in fear of political violence if MDC had not sold-out on implementing the reforms during the GNU.
“This misguided behaviour (attack on Mai Khupe) puts the name of the party and our beliefs into serious disrepute both nationally and internationally,” admitted Tsvangirai.
Well Tsvangirai is right on that one; this only shows the world that MDC leaders do not care about democracy, free and fair elections (they would not be contesting flawed elections) and all the other democratic niceties they keep talking about. All they care about is getting a seat on the gravy train by whatever route they can master including contesting flawed elections.
The wild-cat fight going on in the opposition camp is about who will contest the gravy train seats in the FLAWED elections! The application of the “return fire with fire” policy in its most sickening context – greed!
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