A statement from Embassy of
Canada following the Zimbabwe Constitutional Court’s decision is a great
disappointment!
“We commend all actors for
their decision to put forward their differing positions in a peaceful manner,
respecting the Zimbabwean Constitution and the rule of law. We hope they promote
calm and restraint in responding to the verdict. We also take note of calls for
dialogue to promote peace such as from the Zimbabwe Council of Churches,” reads
the statement.
“All political parties
campaigned on platforms which acknowledged the need for a process of ongoing reform
including political, electoral, human rights and economic. Indeed, at observer
missions, domestic and international, have pointed to the need to rectify a
number of systemic challenges to the electoral process. We call on the new
government to move quickly to formulate a plan to identify and enact reforms
based on discussions with all Zimbabweans.”
A forlorn wish to say the very
least!
There was a raft of democratic
reforms agreed at the onset of the 2008 GNU following the blatant cheating and
wanton violence in that year’s elections. Not even one reform was ever
implemented in the five years of the GNU. All political players from both sides
of the political divide know this.
MDC leaders have failed to get
even one reform implemented because they sold-out. Zanu PF have openly admitted
that they will not “reform themselves out of office”.
We do not need any more
discussions on reforms. What we need is an opportunity to force the
implementation of the reforms. By declaring these elections null and void the
international community will help force this Zanu PF dictatorship to accept the
political reality that since it will not implement any reforms it must step
aside and allow the appointment of an interim administration that will get this
important task done.
President Mnangagwa promised to
hold free, fair and credible elections, he failed to keep his promise.
After 38 years of rigged
elections, with the nation in serious economic and political trouble, what
Zimbabwe needs is to implement the democratic reforms and break this cycle of
rigged elections followed by years of corrupt and tyrannical rule. We do not
need to discuss what reforms we need, we know them already!
Do you serious believe the
country is stuck in this rut of rigged elections because there are no Zimbabweans
out there who know what reforms are required to stop Zanu PF rigging elections?
Please, stop being so patronising!
4 comments:
Su, also vice chairperson of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said the successful holding of the elections reflected the common wish and choice of the Zimbabwean people.
She expressed her best wishes for Zimbabwe’s greater economic and social development under the new president’s leadership.
What does China know on “common wish and choice of the Zimbabwean people”? We know China has played a major role is helping Zanu PF rig elections ever since Zimbabwe gained her independence in 1980.Yes China helped us end white colonial rule but only to take over as the new colonial masters.
Are the Canadians suggesting that these elections were rigged because President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF did not know about the reforms needed to ensure free, fair and credible elections. So the Canadians believe ZEC failed to produce a verified voters' roll because they did not know this was required even though the Zimbabwe law demands one! After 38 nyears of rigging elections we are to believe that Zanu PF did not know it was rigging elections!
How can we have a meaningful dialogue with people who are so deliberate and naive!
The longer we have allowed Zanu PF to stay in power the harder it has become for the party's thugs to give up power and thus the harder it has become to get them out of power. In five years time, VP Chiwenga would certainly be thinking it is his turn to be president and he will not want to hear that he cannot rig the elections to stay in power! We are in acatch 22 situation here trying to get regime change by appeasement.
"Indeed, at observer missions, domestic and international, have pointed to the need to rectify a number of systemic challenges to the electoral process," said the Canadian statement.
This is just a diplomatic way of saying these elections were not free, fair and credible. They were rigged. After 38 years of rigged elections and with the country is serious economic and political trouble this language of appeasement is not at all helpful. Zanu PF will seize on this and say it has done nothing wrong and yet we all know it has blatantly rigged these elections.
Stopping Zanu PF rigging elections has been the greatest challenge for the people of Zimbabwe since the country gained her independence in 1980. As we can see, it a challenge we have singularly failed to deal with and the price of our failure has been the economic collapse and the political tyranny resulting in heart-breaking human suffering and deaths. Like it or not the challenge of rigged elections has grown worse as Zanu PF's power and influence has spread to all corners of the nations. We must face up to the challenge, stop kicked the can down the road and deal with it.
President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF friends failed to hold free, fair and credible elections and since this is the starting point in our rebuilding of this nation we must ask them to stand aside so we can get others who will get us off the starting line. We have wasted the last 38 years with all these false starts only to find we are going nowhere.
Our Canadians friends are NOT being helpful here, they know this was a false start and we are going nowhere; the least they can do say nothing. Telling us we are on the right track when they know we are not is totally unacceptable!
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