EU Election Observers must judge elections on GPA, not wishy-washy MDC, reforms

Why Zimbabwe failed to get even one democratic reform implemented after the five years og the 2008 to 2013 Government of National Unity (GNU) will remain one of the most shameful period in the country’s checked history of failures, economic blunders, corruption, betrayals, rigged elections, treason, murders, coups and counter coups. The primary task of the GNU was to implement a raft of democratic reforms designed to stop a repeat of Zanu PF’s blatant cheating and use of wanton violence that marred the 2008 elections. At the end of the GNU not even one reform had been implemented. NOT ONE!

It is true that Robert Mugabe had bribed the MDC leaders, the GNU partners expected to implement the reforms, with the gravy train lifestyle; generous salaries and allowances, ministerial limousines, a former white-owned farm and $4 million mansion for the two MDC faction leaders Welshman Ncube and Morgan Tsvangirai respectively, etc., etc. MDC leaders are, in return, kicked the reforms into the prickly pear thicket.

“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (The MDC puppets (of the West) have learnt to enjoy gravy train life, they will not rock the boat!) Zanu PF cronies used to boast, commenting on why MDC leaders were not implementing the reforms.

Yes, MDC leaders are corrupt and they sold-out on implementing the reforms but that is not all. Since the end of the GNU MDC leaders have struggle to say what the democratic reforms are, even with the benefit of hindsight; proof the principle reason not even one reform was implemented during the GNU was ignorance. MDC leaders have no clue what the democratic reforms are, even to this day.

“The reforms the people demand include — but are not limited to— the following issues:” said Nelson Chamisa, President of the MDC Alliance when he launched the party’s Plan and Environment for A Credible Election (PEACE) campaign.

“1. Environment Issues
“Given the violence that has characterized our elections; the electoral environment remains a key matter ahead of the next election.

“Zimbabweans want assurance that they will be able to express themselves in a PEACEful environment in which neither fear nor coercion are factors.

“Since 2000, Zimbabweans have needlessly lost their lives on account of their political preferences and this has been acknowledged by various observer missions, including SADC and the report of the military generals from South Africa that has since been made public.

“This is the irony of our situation that State-sponsored violence during elections has remained endemic, regardless of the fact that one of the reasons we waged a protracted liberation struggle against white colonialists was to secure that right.

“Indeed, the clarion call for “one-man-one-vote” was at the epicentre of the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe. It is ironic that coercion, fear, and outright violence continue to punctuate our elections as the State seeks to undermine the very right that we waged a protracted and brutal struggle as a nation.

“It is important that the electoral environment be conducive to the free expression of the people in a free, fair and credible plebiscite.”

He went on to list five other issues namely 2. The Voters Roll and Ballot Issues, 3. Media Reforms, 4. Abuse of traditional Leaders 5. ZEC autonomy and the ZEC secretariat.

A number of things jump out, proof here is someone with no clue what they are talking about:

a)    “Reforms the people demand include—but are not limited to” he said. For Pete’s sake we have been taking about these reforms for the last 20 years; why are you still being coy about what reforms you want?

b)    The issue of politically motivated violence is a very import one and I invite the reader to read through point 1. above which I quoted in its entirety. Remember this is supposed to be a list of “reforms the people demand”. All he has done is restate the problem but has not made even one single demand on the reforms required to end the violence. Not one!

c)     Even if these MDC leaders are not abreast with the details of the reforms they should at least know that the only effective reforms must have the full backing of parliamentary law. The proposed interparty meeting to discuss violence is of no real consequence because individual party members will never have the legal power and authority to investigate and arrest culprits, for example. Only the Police have the power and authority to investigate and arrest but have not been doing so because Zanu PF has eroded their powers hence the need for reforms and not party talks.

d)    Chamisa was a cabinet minister in the GNU and is a sitting MP and many of his party members were ministers and/or MPs and MDC Alliance should be well acquainted with the parliamentary processes required to effect any new or change in the law. It is therefore foolish for anyone to still be calling for electoral reforms with only four or five months to go to voting day.

There is no doubt that MDC leaders have no clue what democratic reforms required to ensure free, fair and credible elections are; they did not know during the GNU years and they still do not know today. The EU and SADC Election observer teams, who visited Zimbabwe recently, and all the other team to follow must ignore what the MDC leaders are saying.

Chamisa and company have already proven beyond all reasonable doubt that they are breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent especially when it comes to ensuring the elections are free, fair and credible. Just ignore MDC leaders, they are a waste of time and it will be unjust to punish the people of Zimbabwe because of MDC leaders’ incompetence!

The then President Mugabe during the GNU knew what the reforms were hence the reason he bribed the MDC leaders just to be doubly sure they did not implement any.

President Mnangagwa and many other senior Zanu PF leaders too understood what the reforms were about and have resisted calls to implement the reforms post the GNU. “You can’t expect us to reform ourselves out of power,” as Professor Jonathan Moyo once said.

The Election Observer teams are in Zimbabwe to judge:

i)               whether the raft of democratic reforms, agreed by all parties in the 2008 Global Political Agreement as necessary for free, fair and credible elections, have been implemented. (We know for a fact that not even one reform was implemented.) The Observers must ignore MDC’s wishy-washy reform demands.

ii)             Whether these elections were free, fair and credible, given the political reality of not even one reform was implemented.

iii)           If the election process is flawed and illegal, the observers own it to the people of Zimbabwe and common justice to declare the process null and void. It is not for them to worry about what will happen next, let us the people of Zimbabwe worry about that!