The
spirit is willing but the intellect is weak. MDC Alliance leaders and
supporters are like an army mounting a spirited attack of an enemy on top of a
hill when it was them who had the hill top advantage to start will but gave it
up without a fight! Of course, it was a foolish decision to have given up the
hill top advantage just as it is a foolish to fight a lost uphill battle!
If
MDC leaders and supporters alike were warned once they were warned 100 000
times of the folly of going into these elections without first implementing the
democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu pf rigging these elections. Take away
Zanu PF’s carte blanche powers to rig the elections and it will be an uphill
battle for the party to win the election.
“MDC
has developed stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” MDC
leaders insisted.
Whatever
these stringent measures were, that is if they existed at all, were totally
ineffective. ZEC even had the chic not to produce a clean and verified voters’
roll, it an essential requirement for many of Zanu PF’s vote rigging schemes. Everybody
with half a brain was convinced even the stupid MDC leaders will not make the
mistake of going into the elections without something as basic as a verified
voters’ roll.
“Morgan
Tsvangirai made the stupid mistake of going into the 2013 elections with no
verified voters’ roll.” Chamisa announce. “I will not repeat the same mistake!”
He
did repeat the mistake. President Mnangagwa, like Mugabe before him, never feared
that MDC leaders will ever boycott the elections to pressure Zanu PF to
implement the democratic reforms regardless how flawed and illegal the election
process got. He knew that as long as Zanu PF offered a few gravy train seats MDC
leaders will participate and that is exactly what happened in 2013 and again
this year.
The
elections went ahead, Zanu PF secured its landslide 2/3 majority in parliament
and senate. ZEC declared President Mnangagwa the winner of the presidential
race. Nelson Chamisa has since mounted a spirited challenge of Mnangagwa’s
victory in the Con-Court. And MDC members are joining this fight in support of
their leader.
“The
MDC Veterans Activists Association (VAA) has started mobilising supporters and
members of the organisation to back MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa during
the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) challenge proceedings against
President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday,” reported NewsDay.
MDC VAA secretary-general Charles Musimiki told Southern Eye on Saturday that his organisation was in solidarity with Chamisa and the Zimbabwean electorate in the petition.
"The electorate clearly spoke their wish through the ballot. It is our sincere appeal to all veterans to get out of their schedules and join hands with our president on August 22 in Harare for the court proceedings. All roads should lead to Harare, come Wednesday," said MDC VAA Secretary General Charles Musimiki.
MDC VAA secretary-general Charles Musimiki told Southern Eye on Saturday that his organisation was in solidarity with Chamisa and the Zimbabwean electorate in the petition.
"The electorate clearly spoke their wish through the ballot. It is our sincere appeal to all veterans to get out of their schedules and join hands with our president on August 22 in Harare for the court proceedings. All roads should lead to Harare, come Wednesday," said MDC VAA Secretary General Charles Musimiki.
"Our
country, our democracy, our vote is at stake and it needs us all as veterans of
change to engage our commitment gear into motion to protect the aforementioned."
Poor, poor Musimiki the spirit is willing but the intellect to know WHEN to fight is clearly lacking. When MDC foolishly agree to go into these elections without even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll the party recklessly sold-out the electorate’s right to a free, fair and credible vote! No amount of sit-in and prayers will ever recover the stolen votes and Zanu PF’s landslide victory.
Poor, poor Musimiki the spirit is willing but the intellect to know WHEN to fight is clearly lacking. When MDC foolishly agree to go into these elections without even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll the party recklessly sold-out the electorate’s right to a free, fair and credible vote! No amount of sit-in and prayers will ever recover the stolen votes and Zanu PF’s landslide victory.
Even
if the Con-Court was to rule in favour of Chamisa and hand him the presidency,
no doubt that will tickle Chamisa’s bloated ego to no end. But what good will
that be to Zimbabwe. Like it or not President Chamisa will never accomplish
anything of note with a 2/3 majority Zanu PF parliament and senate, a Zanu PF
controlled judiciary, civil service, security services, etc.
Zimbabwe
is in deep, deep economic and political trouble, after 38 years of corrupt and
tyrannical Zanu PF rule. What the country needs desperately is a competent and
democratically accountable government and for that we need to implement the democratic reforms, the
pre-requisite for free, fair and credible elections.
So
by dragging the nation into these elections with no democratic reforms to stop
Zanu PF rigging the elections MDC leaders has left the nation stuck with the
corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF for another five years. And worse still, the
nation has forfeited another chance to force through the reforms and thus hold
free and fair elections. The real fight here is to have these flawed elections
declared null and void and start the fight to get the reforms implemented.
Chamisa’s fight in the Con-Court is of no consequence, at best, and a
distraction at worst!
7 comments:
The British MP Kate Hoey, one of the observers at the Zimbabwe elections, says the international community should not accept the result. She said: 'the UK government must take a lead to ensure that the Zimbabwean government is seen for what it is: a mark 2 Mugabe regime and one that deserves no support whatsoever.'
Ms Hoey's voice carries extra weight because she is the long-time chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Committee on Zimbabwe.
I salute MP Kate Hoey for her courage and foresight. There is nothing of substance to be accomplishing by pretending the elections were free, fair and credible much less that this Zanu PF regime will get the nation out of this hell-hole the nation now finds itself. All such pretences in the past have only resulted in dragging the nation deeper and deeper into the hell-hole.
There comes a time when one must be truthful and honest, for Zimbabwe, that time is now. Zimbabwe is standing at the edge of the precipice and the nation must be told the danger it is in and to say otherwise is unkind.
This is just the usual madness! There are two possible outcomes of this court challenge:
1) Chamisa to be declared the winner and we end up with a government comprising President Chamisa and a 2/3 Zanu PF parliament and senate.
2) Mnangagwa is declared the winner and the corrupt and tyrannical rule continues.
So either outcome will be a total disaster for the nation because neither government will accomplish anything of value. Worse still in five years we will be in the same mess we are in right now of yet another rigged elections because neither regime will implement any reforms.
These elections should have never taken place with no reforms in place, these elections were not free, fair and credible and, since the Con-Court will only address one aspect of the election results it is per se ineffective remedy since that will not change the bottom line. We will still have a failed government regardless who is president!
I totally agree, these elections should not have taken place, not until the reforms were implemented. Zanu PF has already rigged these elections to secure a 2/3 majority in parliament and senate. Even if the party was to lose the presidency Zanu PF already has enough political clout to make sure nothing of substance is ever accomplished.
Only MDC leaders would pursue this case out of the usual madness! There are two possible outcomes of this court challenge:
1) Chamisa to be declared the winner and we end up with a government comprising President Chamisa and a 2/3 Zanu PF parliament and senate.
2) Mnangagwa is declared the winner and the corrupt and tyrannical rule continues.
So either outcome will be a total disaster for the nation because neither government will accomplish anything of value. Worse still in five years we will be in the same mess we are in right now of yet another rigged elections because neither regime will implement any reforms.
These elections should have never taken place with no reforms in place, these elections were not free, fair and credible and, since the Con-Court will only address one aspect of the election results it is per se ineffective remedy since that will not change the bottom line. We will still have a failed government regardless who is president!
This country is in serious trouble and what the nation wants is a serious solution and no more of these MDC time wasting gimmick!
@Clevers Moyo
"Iwe Mukori don't confuse readers. Wait for the court outcome. Any serious Con Court cannot ignore the evidence presented by Chamisa's legal team. Zanu pf 's legal team on the other hand is praying for technicalities together with Zec. Zec has messed up big time this time."
If by ZEC "messed up big time this time" you mean ZEC helped Zanu PF to rig the elections, then yes they did but this is not for the first time.
Chamisa and his MDC friends messed up to because they ignored the warning not to go into these elections without implementing the reforms first. If you think that the court challenge before the Con-Court will undone the damage done by participating in these flawed elections then you are naïve.
There are two possible outcomes here either Mnangagwa wins or Chamisa wins. What is important to the nation is that whichever of the two win the nation will lose because neither of them will bring about any meaningful economic and political changes. If you do not agree then please tell us what you expect to change.
Your project fear that we should not discuss anything until the Con-Court has given its ruling for fear of "confusing the readers" must be dismissed with the contempt it rightly deserve! You do not want the reader to ask where the nation is going because you prefer to bury your head in the sand and follow blindly. If you are one of the MDC leaders, you want to silence everyone because you want everyone to behave like the MDC supporters who follow blindly like sheep to the slaughter. Well enough of that nonsense!
It is right and proper that the readers should not only ask the likes of Chamisa where the hell this is going but, better still, hold him to account! Chamisa and Tendai Biti should have implemented the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship, we would not still be in this mess if they had done so. Of course, MDC sold-out during the GNU and now these sell-out must be held to account!
@ Artur Jovo
NOTHING IS TOO LATE
The country is still there, Chamisa is not dead.
+Chikurubi Prison to lock-up Mnangagwa and Chiwenga is not yet full.
Of course, it is too late to change Zanu PF's 2/3 landslide victory in the parliamentary results! Even if the party was to lose the presidency to Chamisa Zanu PF thugs will still be ruling Zimbabwe with Chamisa as nothing more than their puppet.
Do you really think that with Zanu PF controlling parliament, senate, etc. Chamisa will do anything of substance much less throw Mnangagwa and Chiwenga in prison? You really are naïve!
The people of Zimbabwe have waited for 38 years now for free, fair and credible elections and we cannot keep on participating in flawed and illegal elections.
@ Mondy Moyo
"If MDC had boycotted Zanu Pf was not going to lose sleep over that. They will thrash it out with dreadlock Brian Mteki and celebrate all the way to the inauguration. Its good they got into it knowing all the odds were against into it. They now know their support base. Will grow with it. This system of boycotting elections is not good. Even your supporters end up abstaining and when you need their support there comes in that apathy. Its good they are BRINGING IT ON to the JUNTA PF."
This is an argument only someone with a shallow mind would make! And if the truth be told, as a nation Zimbabwe has more than her fair share of such shallow minded people and hence the reason the nation has sunk this far and fast into the abyss.
Elections are first and foremost about giving every citizen a meaningful say in the governance of the country and hence the reason why elections must be free, fair and credible. It is not about those in power holding on to it all cost. It therefore goes without saying that there must be rules governing the conduct of elections to ensure they are free, fair and credible.
If someone decides to disregard the rules to the point where it really is impossible to hold free, fair and credible elections so much so the results becomes a mockery of democratic elections, as happened in the 2008 elections, then there is no point in taking part in the charade.
Your argument that one must take part in the elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets is a foolish because we might just as well forget about formulating the rules because those in a position to break the rules will do so with impunity.
You do not take part in a flawed and illegal process because you do not want to give the process credibility. Just because someone else will do so is just a feeble excuse for you to do the same.
For your information people like Tendai Biti, Nelson Chamisa, David Coltart, etc. have been contesting the flawed elections because they knew Zanu PF gives away a few gravy train seats, a bribe to entice the opposition. Opposition leaders have come up with all manner of excuses for contesting flawed elections but the real reason is greed. David Coltart this in his book but has been very careful never to repeat the admission ever again.
"This system of boycotting elections is not good. Even your supporters end up abstaining and when you need their support there comes in that apathy," you say.
The opposite is the case. Every time the opposition have assured the people the elections are going to be free and fair and this does not happen it has only eroded the public's confidence in the country's ability to hold free, fair and credible elections. Rural voters have lost confidence in the opposition's ability to stop Zanu PF intimidation, beatings and hence the party's support has gone up since the low of the March 2008.
@Paul Maguta
It takes very little to impress some people, indeed even nothing to impress others!
Zimbabwe should have never gone into these elections with no reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections on the ground. The elections went ahead because Chamisa and company would not listen.
"MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!" Chamisa insisted. Anyone with half a brain knew that was just hot air, the only stringent measure were reforms.
"Tsvangirai made the stupid mistake of going into the 2013 elections without a clean and verified voters' roll!" admitted Chamisa. "I will not make the same mistake!"
And yet that is exactly what he did! Zanu PF has blatantly rigged these elections to romp home with more than a 2/3 majority victory in parliament and senate.
"His Constitutional Court (ConCourt) challenge on the rigged polls has separated boys from men. Zec, by revising its presidential results before the case is argued, amounts to accepting that they announced fake results, which seem to favour the Zanu-PF candidate only," you say.
What you are failing to grasp here is that even if Chamisa was declared the winner he will never accomplish anything with a Zanu PF controlled parliament! He will be just a dead duck president at a time when the nation desperately needed a competent government! So what is there for the nation to be excited about!
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