“Kenya's
opposition leader Raila Odinga has just announced that he's not
"ready" to take part in a planned re-run of the country's
presidential election,” reported Bulawayo 24.
“Mr Odinga said he wanted "legal and
constitutional guarantees" in place before agreeing to take part.
“He also called for changes to the country's electoral commission, which was blamed by the Supreme Court for irregularities which led to the August election being annulled.”
“He also called for changes to the country's electoral commission, which was blamed by the Supreme Court for irregularities which led to the August election being annulled.”
These are logical and very reasonable demands!
What is the point in the nation going through
yet another election process when there are no guarantees that the criminal
vote rigging of yesterday will not be repeated? Election fraud is a very
serious crime and the only way to show the world and would-be fraudsters that
the nation will not tolerate it, is by punishing all those involved in last
month’s vote rigging.
To allow the crooks who rigged the last
elections to walk scot free is unforgivable. But to go even further and allow
the same criminals to manage the rerun election, as Uhuru Kenyatta is suggesting,
is an insult to the nation and a mockery of justice. To allow the criminals to
manage the rerun is tantamount to challenging them to rig the vote again and
see if they will cover their tracks, this time.
The very least that can happen here is for all the
election officials suspected or implicated in the vote rigging to be suspended!
Only a fool, having been the victim of the first fraud, would ever agree to
anyone suspected of conniving in the last vote rigging being involved in the
rerun. Raila Odinga is no such fool!
Morgan Tsvangirai would agree to anything and everything
President Mugabe wants. Tsvangirai agreed to contesting the July 2013 with no
verifiable voters roll in place although this is a constitutional requirement,
for example. Today the same ZEC officials who failed to produce a verifiable 2013
voters’ roll are managing next year’s elections; it is certain they will once
again fail to produce a verifiable 2018 voters’ roll. No doubt MDC will contest
the flawed elections regardless.
4 comments:
@ Pythias Makonese
The people of Zimbabwe know that Zanu PF has been blatantly rigging the vote and those telling them otherwise are wasting their time.
Millions of Zimbabweans were harassed, beaten and/or raped and over 500 were murdered in cold blood in 2008 in Mugabe’s operation “Mavhotera papi!” (Whom did you vote for!) One can tell the people that they are free to vote forever they please, when nothing was ever done to punish those who masterminded and carried out Mavhora papi, the people would be very foolish to believe that nonsense. Indeed, some of those responsible for the violence, still remind the people they will be punished again if Zanu PF lose the vote.
The people know the opposition have done nothing to protect them from Zanu PF harassment, beating or worse and so protect themselves from certain abuse, they allow themselves to be frogmarch to rallies and then to vote for Zanu PF, etc.
You can tell a blind man there no maize in his plate of rice and he will believe you. You can say what like about the hot chilli in his relish; he will know for himself if there is hot chilli.
All this voter education is not only wasting time but worse still it is counterproductive. The most logical thing to do right now is not to take any part in an electoral process that everyone knows will be rigged. We must demand the implementation of reforms BEFORE elections. To take part in the elections in any way would be considered participating and as long as people participate Zanu PF will never implement the reforms and so people will never have free, fair and credible elections.
There are too many donors with money to waste bankrolling some of these totally pointless vote education programme. Zanu PF needs people to participate in the flawed electoral process, to give it some modicum of credibility. There is no doubt that Zanu PF itself is now paying for many of these voter education programmes!
@ Ring master
The article was comparing Tsvangirai to Raila Odinga because the two were PM in a GNU tasked to implement the reforms. Whilst the later got the reforms implemented the former failed to get even one reform implemented because he and his MDC colleague are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent.
You can compare Tsvangirai to Dongo or whoever else you wish but that will not change the historic facts of his own pathetic performance.
Zimbabwe's immediate challenge is whether to follow Tsvangirai into yet another flawed electoral process or to stand firm and demand the reform before elections. Of course, it is madness contesting an election knowing the result is already pre-determined, yet many people like you would do it for no better reason than "I don't know where the good leaders are who should do better than him"! How stupid is that! You would walk into a crocodile infested river because Tsvangirai tell you to!
The refusal to participate in flawed elections is the logic thing to do and you do not need a political party or leader to tell you what to do here because it is self -evident. SADC leaders are not stupid, they knew the July 2013 elections were a sham but if that is what the people of Zimbabwe wanted then it was not their business to interfere. It was SADC leaders who suggested we boycott the elections, but we chose to ignore them.
On the other hand, if Zimbabweans make it crystal clear they are sick and tired of rigged elections of course SADC will condemn the sham elections. It is now up to us to show the world that we are ready for free, fair and credible elections by rejecting flawed elections.
@ Chiremba
“Tsvangirai and others have been arrested, brutalised and visibly led NERA demonstrations while you discouraged them in typical Zanu fashion,” you say.
We have been here before!
President Mugabe and many of his cronies fought the war of liberation and were beaten and imprisoned by the white racist regime. After independence, they are the one who have systematically denied the people their freedoms and basic human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections and even the right to life. It is conceivable that Tsvangirai and his MDC colleague can be corrupt and incompetent although they too were arrested, beaten, etc. by the Zanu PF regime!
To even suggest that Tsvangirai should be above criticism because he was beaten, arrested, etc. by Zanu PF is as nonsensical as suggesting the President Mugabe should be above criticism for all the corruption and murders because he is a liberation war hero.
Why would a Zanu PF agent be fighting for free, fair and credible elections? You are really scrapping the bottom of the barrel now!
MDC leaders sold-out on the fight for free, fair and credible elections along, along time ago and that is why they failed to get even one reform implemented during the GNU and contested flawed 2013 elections. Right now they are determined to contest next year's elections even thou they know Zanu PF will rig the vote, they do not care. All they care about is that they win the few gravy train seats that Zanu PF gives away as bribes for contrsting flawed elections.
The people of Zimbabwe have been slow to notice when their political leaders have failed them being it because they are corrupt or incompetent or both. MDC leaders have sold-out and the sooner Zimbabweans wake up to this reality the sooner the nation can hope to finally have the reforms implemented.
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