After years of claiming that MDC will force Zanu PF to implement the
democratic reforms necessary for free and fair elections, thus tie the proverbial
bell round the cat’s neck; it is now clear MDC was just posturing. MDC leaders
are scraping the bottom of the barrel in a desperate bid keep up the facade
they will get the reforms implemented and deliver the free and fair election!
“The MDC-T and MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has threatened to
mobilise the opposition party's supporters to picket at the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (Zec) head office starting tomorrow until July 30 if the electoral
management body fails to address their demands for transparency in the printing
of ballot material by end of business today,” reported Bulawayo 24.
“MDC Alliance co-principal Tendai Biti confirmed the development yesterday, saying they had started mobilising mobile toilets and tents for the thousands of opposition supporters expected to participate in the vigil.”
“MDC Alliance co-principal Tendai Biti confirmed the development yesterday, saying they had started mobilising mobile toilets and tents for the thousands of opposition supporters expected to participate in the vigil.”
MDC leaders have known all along that Zanu PF rigs elections and with
not even one reform in place the regime will rig these elections. MDC leaders
have decided to participate in these elections regardless because they are
after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gives away as David Coltart, MDC
senator and minister in the GNU, has readily 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 (2013)
elections," he wrote in his recent book.
"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 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."
Of course, MDC leaders would never admit that greed has the better of
them (Coltart must have agonised in making the admission in his book and has
been very careful never to repeat publicly ever again). They have sort to hide
their greed behind a smoke screen, they have maintained MDC will force ZEC and
Zanu PF to implement all the reforms they are demanding BEFORE elections are
held hence they insistence that MDC will never boycott the elections.
Zanu PF and ZEC have called MDC leaders’ bluff and for the last five
years have stubbornly refused to given in to even one of the MDC’s demands. Not
one!
With exactly two weeks to go to voting day, reality is dawning on even
the most blind-as-mole MDC supporters that these elections are going ahead with
not even one reform in place. The MDC leaders’ smoke screen is clearing like
the morning mist under the hot Africa sun!
“We will be leading from the front, we will be living on the streets. We
are not going to allow this election to be stolen. They can kill us. We are
prepared to die for free, fair and credible elections. We have given Zec a
deadline and if they don't address the issues raised in the petition by Monday,
then we will be living on the streets," Biti said.
"We have said this over and over again, there will be no voting. Some people talk about us boycotting the election, I don't know where they get that. We are not boycotting, there will be no election."
"We have said this over and over again, there will be no voting. Some people talk about us boycotting the election, I don't know where they get that. We are not boycotting, there will be no election."
Desperate people do desperate things! MDC leaders are desperate to keep
their blind-as-mole supporters on board, camping outside ZEC offices is just a
desperate gimmick to make their supporters believe all the reforms will finally
be implemented and the elections will be free, fair and credible. No doubt,
there will be many blind-as-mole supporters who will believe this nonsense –
they are desperate for something to believe in and will clatch at straws.
ZEC will ignore the 24 hour deadline. MDC leaders and their supporters
will camp outside ZEC offices. Zanu PF will ignore them. If there is going to
be any violence, I would not be surprised that it would be MDC who would have
provoked it, just to get some attention.
“We are prepared to die for free, fair and credible elections,” said
Tendai Biti. Oh please, spare us the Tabasco sauce!
You had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms which
would have delivered free and fair elections during the GNU. You and your MDC
friends failed to implement even one reform in five years. You wasted these
years tripping over each other competing for the honour to praise Robert
Mugabe.
"Mugabe is unflappable! He is the fountain of wisdom! He is the
father of the nation!" sung Biti.
The tyrant has complete destroyed Zimbabwe's economy forcing
unemployment to soar to dizzying heights of 90%, basic services such as clean
running water and health care have all but collapsed, ¾ of our people are
living in abject poverty, etc., etc. Where is the fountain of wisdom in that?
Some father of the nation he has turned out to be given he has murdered
over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans to create and retain this de facto one-party
cum one-man dictatorship.
These elections should not be taking place, not without the reforms in
place; the only reasons they are taking place is because of MDC leaders’ greed.
Chamisa and company have insisted they will get the reforms implemented, a
smoke screen to hide their greed. With just two weeks left to voting day, it is
clear no reforms will ever be implemented, the smoke screen has cleared and
Zimbabweans must now wake up to the reality that Zanu PF is going to rig these
elections.
Whilst there is nothing people do now to stop these elections going
ahead; what we can do now is refused to take any part in these flawed
elections. Our participation will not change the outcome, a landslide victory
for Zanu PF; what it does is give the elections process some modicum of credibility,
as Coltart rightly acknowledge above.
We, the long suffering ordinary Zimbabweans, must make is clear here and
now, not after the voting day, that we did not approve the elections going
ahead with no reforms in place. We never subscribed to MDC leaders’ nonsense
that they will get Zanu PF to implement the reforms before the elections,
belling the cat.
5 comments:
MDC can camp at all the ZEC offices in every city, town and growth point in Zimbabwe what we can say for sure is that there will still not get any meaningful reforms implemented. Zanu PF is rigging these elections and MDC are helping Zanu PF do this and get away with it by insisting in participating in these flawed elections.
We want free and fair elections and not these follish MDC gimmicks!
Based on evidence of what has happened so far - Zec's seemingly reluctance to give MDC Alliance the voters' roll, contradictions on the printing of the ballot paper and flaws in the postal vote - the opposition might have a strong case against the national elections management body.
However, flaws in the electoral process and opposition's gripe with the Zec's conduct, should not be used as a licence to promote or stir lawlessness as is what both Biti and Chamisa appear to be pushing through their threats.
MDC leaders have been warned that with no reforms in place Zanu PF will rig these elections. They have chosen to ignore the warning and maintain MDC had "stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections", said Chamisa. Now with just two weeks to go to voting day and not even one token reform implemented Chamisa and Biti are calling for these sit-in protests. One only hopes that the sit-in will not develop into violence as MDC leaders try to desperately prove they are still politically relevant!
As Stalin once said, "The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."
It is one thing participating in an election process believing that one vote counts it is quite another to do so knowing fully well you have the vote and the other has a veto!
SADC leaders have publicly said Zimbabwe elections should not go ahead without first implementing the reforms. "If you go into next month's elections, you will lose; the elections are done!" they warned Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends just before the 2013 elections. MDC leaders paid no heed to the warning and, as we know, Zanu PF blatantly rigged that year's elections.
Not even one reform has been implemented since the rigged July 2013 elections. It is obvious, Zanu PF is going to rig this year's elections too.
SADC are the principle Zimbabwe election referee and therefore to ignore their warning is foolish and yet that is exactly what MDC leaders did in 2013 and are doing again this year! What the ordinary Zimbabweans must do now is denounce these MDC sell-outs and make it clear they did not want these elections to go ahead without first implementing the reforms.
These elections are not free, fair and credible and the process must therefore be declared null and void!
What is there to talk about? There is nothing anyone can do to produce a clean and verified voters' roll, ensure there is free public media, etc. all necessary for free, fair and credible elections. We must stop wasting time and resources on political gimmicks!
A delegation of The Elders led by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and comprising of Mary Robinson and Lakhdar Brahimi will from 19 to 21 July visit Zimbabwe to try and ensure a free, fair and credible poll.
The Elders, who identify themselves as an independent group of global leaders working together for peace and human rights [who] represent an independent voice, not bound by the interests of any nation, government or institution will meet with political parties to try to ensure a free, fair and credible election.
Zimbabwe is stuck in a rut and that is the truth. The 2008 to 2013 GNU was supposed to help reset the country's corrupt and dysfunctional political system after the barbaric elections of 2008. Sadly, not even one meaningful reform was implemented.
One can only hope that the Elders will see for themselves that these elections, like so many other elections in the past, are not going to be free, fair and credible. They will see the logic of declaring these elections null and void to allow the country to revisit the raft of democratic reforms agreed in 2008 and make sure they are finally implemented.
One hopes the Elders will talk to international election observers and make sure they too see the logic of declaring these elections null and void.
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