"MDC did well, winning 64 MP seats," boasted Cross - elections were rigged, for Pete's sake. P Guramatunhu

MDC leaders sold-out during the GNU, if you lot had implemented the democratic reforms we would not still be in this mess! Many thinking Zimbabweans have long lost patience with you MDC leaders and I am one of those!

“SOMETIMES in this game, the safest route into the immediate future is to keep your head down and wait for the dust to clear before looking over the wall to see what has happened. It is impossible to predict what is going to happen in the next few days/weeks here in Zimbabwe and the uncertainties are clouding everyone's vision,” you say.

So is that what you did throughout the five years of the GNU “keep your head down and wait for the dust to clear”? Frankly the nation would be far better off if you kept your mouth shut because you are not helping the nation move forward.

“It is a pity that this is so because I thought we were doing so well in the run up to the elections and then the way in which we handled the elections themselves. Had we continued on that orderly, managed path, I think we could have predicted a good outcome for all of us. Just so that we keep things in perspective let's remember that the MDC Alliance increased its tally of Members of Parliament by a third to 64 seats, with one independent and one National Patriotic Front member and with Zanu-PF being held down to 144 seats — just barely two thirds. Nothing like the overwhelming majority they held before,” you say.

For Pete’s sake Eddie, these elections were first and foremost about making sure every Zimbabwean exercised their right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country after all these years of rigged elections.

If MDC leaders were warned once, they were warned 100 000 times and 100 000 times again not to take part in these elections without first implementing the reforms. Sadly the warnings have fallen on deaf ears and intellect atrophied by greed. It is no secret that MDC leaders have been after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF has offered as bait to entice them to contest the elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process got!

“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.”

Zanu PF was able to win the 144 parliamentary seats because these elections were not free, fair and credible. There was no free public media, 2 to 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora (20% to 30% of the 5 million votes cast) were denied the vote, ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll, etc. Like it or not the nation is stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for another five more years regardless who win the presidential race. To you Mr Cross, all these things are water off a duck’s back; all you care about is that MDC won 64 of the bait gravy train seat. How typical!