“Professor
Welshman Ncube, the spokesperson for the coalition MDC Alliance spoke out against
the British and the Chinese for seemingly backing President Mnangagwa,”
reported Bulawayo 24.
“Said Ncube, "We think it is inappropriate for the British and the Chinese to pick a horse in this election. They should, instead, insist on Zimbabwe abiding by international norms and standards for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
“Said Ncube, "We think it is inappropriate for the British and the Chinese to pick a horse in this election. They should, instead, insist on Zimbabwe abiding by international norms and standards for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
“Responding
to the allegations, Simon Thomas, the Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy
Harare said that his country did not care about who wins the polls. He insisted
that his country's only interest in the election was that it should be
conducted under free and fair conductions. Writing on microblogging site
Twitter, Thomas said.”
This
article raises two points of interest:
1) It is heartening to hear that the
British are keen to see clean free, fair and credible elections. But, if the
truth be told, they have certainly taken their eyes off the ball because whilst
everyone is concerned that President Mnangagwa and his Junta regime has done
nothing to ensure free and fair election. The regime has made a big song and
dance about holding free and fair elections and yet has gone out of its way to resist
implementing the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections.
Indeed, the regime has continued with its vote rigging
programmes set in motion before the deposing of Mugabe last November. President
Mnangagwa has bought the Chief the twin cab trucks Mugabe had promised, a bribe
to ensure the Chiefs carry out their usual task of intimidate and frog march rural
voters to vote for Zanu PF.
The British have become preoccupied with normalising Zimbabwe’s
relationship and trade with the West, EU and the UK itself forgetting that all
these will come to naught if Zanu PF fails to hold free and fair elections.
If the elections are rigged, President Mnangagwa may just as
well advertise on bill-board “Zimbabwe is NOT open for business!” Because by
rigging the elections the regime will have confirmed the country is still a
pariah state ruled by thugs. No one, foreign or local, wants to do business
with lawless thugs!
2) It is rich that Professor Welshman Ncube
should be calling on the British to keep their eyes on the political ball, demands
to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible
elections. Was it not the Professor and his MDC friends who sold-out and failed
to implement even one reform in five years of the GNU?
SADC leaders, literally begged, Professor Ncube and his MDC
friends not to take part in the 2013 elections without implementing the reforms
first. The MDC leaders paid no heed because they did not care that the elections
would be rigged as long as they won the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gave away
as bait.
“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.”
President Mnangagwa and his Junta have refused to implement even
one reform and it is clear the elections are being rigged right before our own
eyes. These elections should have never been allowed to go ahead without first
implementing the reforms; Professor Ncube and his friends in the opposition camp
should have pointedly refused to have anything to do with the flawed elections.
All the international community, include SADC, must do now is
make sure the elections are declared null and void and finally put an end to
this charade!
“They (British) should, instead, insist on Zimbabwe abiding by
international norms and standards for the conduct of free, fair and credible
elections,” say Professor Ncube. What a hypocrite! When have you or any MDC
leader ever abided by any norm or even common sense yourself?
8 comments:
We have heard these claims that a grand coalition will defeat Zanu PF but this is all nonsense because there is no evidence that MDC lost past elections because the opposition split the vote. There is a mountain of evidence to prove MDC would have won the elections was it not for Zanu PF's blatant cheating and use of violence.
Grand coalitions have now become the excuse for contesting flawed elections. People must keep their eyes on the ball - implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
NIKUV have added a new variation to their vote rigger schemes; create a multitude of opposition parties and thus give even greater weight to the argument that the opposition would win if it was not divided!
We, Zimbabweans from the opposition, ordinary people and the ruling Zanu PF politicians, are our own worst enemies. You are 100% correct that Professor Ncube and his MDC friends are being hypocrites of the worst kind in that they are the ones who failed to implement any reforms during the five years of the GNU. They are the ones who then dragged the nation into the pointless 2013 elections and are doing the same again now when the logic course of action would be to demand the reforms BEFORE elections.
We would not be in this mess, fighting to implement the reforms to restore our basic human freedoms and rights, if Zanu PF are not undermined the country democratic institution and ridden roughshod over our freedoms and rights. It is intolerable that after fighting the white colonialists for our freedoms and rights we are having to fight for the same freedoms and rights all over again. ED and his Zanu PF are now our new oppressors and they are even claiming they have the right to oppress.
After 38 years of this chaotic situation it is undeniable that we, the ordinary people, have had many opportunities to stop and then to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. We have wasted all these opportunities. A healthy and functional democracy demands a diligent, vigilant and responsible electorate. Freedoms and rights come with the duty and responsibility to defend them when they are threatened or denied. We have clearly failed ourselves, each other and posterity in allowing Zanu PF to ride roughshod over our freedoms and rights. We have failed ourselves too in failing to make sure that MDC did and continue to sell-out of getting the reforms implemented!
If we want free, fair and credible elections it is for us, ordinary Zimbabweans, to demand of both Zanu PF and the opposition, to have reforms implemented BEFORE elections. Failure to get this, then we must demand of the international community, to have these flawed elections declared null and void.
David Moore is right that after coming into power on the back of a military coup, President Mnangagwa and his coup posse have no political legitimacy. Yes the regime will clean up and get legitimacy if it was going to hold free, fair and credible elections. Sadly, the regime has paid lip service to holding free elections and has, meanwhile, continued to implement its clandestine vote rigging schemes.
President Mnangagwa and his military Junta are the ones who have been rigging elections to allow Mugabe and Zanu PF to enjoy absolute power all these years. They have clearly no intention of putting their struggle hold on power by holding free elections.
But that carte blanche power to rig elections in also their Achilles' heel because no foreign or local investors are going to do business in a country whose next regime change will require another military coup after decades of corrupt and tyrannical rule!
Even the country's major provincial hospitals are barely working, it is quite common to hear that big hospitals like Mpilo and Harare Hospitals are not carrying out even the most routine operations because they have no pain killers. One can only imagine the sorry state of the district hospitals across the width and breadth of the country.
Education, supply of clean running water and electricity, etc. are in a sorry state too after decades of neglect.
It is therefore shocking that Zimbabwe should be building new parliament and other prestige projects when millions of lives are at risk because our health, education and other basic requirements of life have all but collapsed!
As much as President Mnangagwa would like his Junta regime to be seen as different from Mugabe's 37 reign of terror and destruction the truth is the two are different sides of the same coin. In November 2017 Zanu PF removed one dictator but only to get another dictator; the dictatorship itself did not change one bit!
"There can never be free, fair and credible elections with the current setup," MDC spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said by phone from Harare. "There simply won't be any elections if our demands for fundamental changes in the electoral architecture aren't met. We can make it impossible to hold those elections."
This is just the opposition grandstanding and posturing! MDC had the golden opportunity during the GNU to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections. They failed to get even one reform implemented because the sold-out. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office and they, in return, kicked all reforms out of the window.
"Whether the election due before Sept. 1 is regarded as fair may determine the success of efforts by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Mugabe as president in November, to attract investment to revive an economy that has halved in size since 2000. The government is keen to kick-start the nation's stagnant mining and agriculture industries," you said.
You have hit the nail on the head right there! If the Mnangagwa regime fail to hold free and fair elections it would have shot itself in the head. It would have confirmed the regime is still a party of thugs which can only be change by yet another military coup. No investors want to do business in pariah state ruled by thugs!
When President Mnangagwa first took over from Mugabe he wanted to end Zimbabwe's isolation. His "Zimbabwe is open for business!" call was aimed at getting everyone, especially investors and financial players from the West who had shied away from Zimbabwe the last two decades or more. Sadly, for Mnangagwa, there have been no takers.
Investors and financial backers from the West have shied away from Zimbabwe because the country was a pariah state under Mugabe. Mnangagwa had a chance to prove to the world that his regime was different by holding free, fair and credible elections. He has promised to do so but has clearly no intention to do so!
With no help coming from the West Mnangagwa has now turned to the Chinese just as Mugabe, before him, has done. China will give Mnangagwa the financial help it wants on its terms, just as it did with Mugabe. The one area China will help Mnangagwa is helping his regime rig the elections just as China has helped Mugabe rig elections all these last 38 years!
"In the case of Mnangagwa, he has to address the concerns of the Sadc presidents that the elections will be clean, because that is the one huge test before the international community will confer legitimacy upon him," said Professor Stephen Chan.
As for China, he said, Mnangagwa needs to persuade Beijing to kick-start what he knows are existing standby funds that will help Zimbabwe.
"They want more action still on corruption. They are asking why they should throw good money after bad.
ED has travelled to every country in the SADC region and beyond for purpose of assuring everyone that he will hold free and fair elections and yet has done nothing at home to make this happen. He has stubbornly refused to implement any democratic reforms and has even continue to dismiss those call for reforms as barking dogs!
After the November coup President Mnangagwa and his coup posse were like a kid caught with his mouth stuffed with cookies; the kid promises to bake more cookie only as a quick way to earn forgiveness. It is now three months since the coup and a few months before the elections and everyone can see Zanu PF has not implemented even one reform. Indeed, everyone can see the regime is soldiering on with its vote rigging schemes.
President Mnangagwa is rigging these elections, confident he will get away with it. Little does he realise the world is sick and tired of Zanu PF trickery and contemptuous arrogance!
@Sarah Mahoka
Do not forget that we would not be needing these reforms if Zanu PF had not corrupted our state institution and has been ridding roughshod over the people's freedoms and rights. We want reforms to stop ED and his Junta denying povo their basic freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections.
When ED is promising free and fair elections he is not doing the people of Zimbabwe any special favours! He is giving back the people what he and his Junta thugs have stolen from povo!
Just because MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent, they sold on reforms during the GNU and are selling out now by taking part in flawed elections; that does not mean Zanu PF can continue to ride roughshod over the people's freedoms, rights and dreams. If the election go ahead with no reforms, which is what Zanu PF is doing; mark my words, the elections will be declared null and void.
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