Election victories prove Zanu PF's "rural" stranglehold - vote rigging stranglehold, different kettle of fish N Garikai

Zimbabwean elections are not free, fair and credible and the declared results are therefore a figment of the regime and not a reflection of the democratic wishes of the people. To suggest otherwise is an insult to those whose right to a meaningful vote is so callously and repeatedly denied.

 “Despite the economic hardships being experienced in the country, the rural electorate seems confident in President Emmerson Mnangagwa-led administration as shown by Zanu-PF's continuous wins in by-elections conducted so far,” reported TellZim.

“The Zaka East parliamentary by-election held on September 21 is the latest result which has proven that the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC, which is the most formidable opposition party, still has a long way to go in efforts to break Zanu-PF's stranglehold on rural areas.”

Everybody who has observed Zimbabwe elections will tell you that Zanu PF abuses state aid and power to coerce ordinary people and, if its hold on power is still threatened, brute force. 

“Observers widely reported on efforts to undermine the free expression of the will of electors, through inducements, intimidation and coercion against prospective voters to try to ensure a vote in favour of the ruling party. Such practices also included direct threats of violence, pressure on people to attend rallies, partisan actions by traditional leaders, collection of voter registration slips and other measures to undermine confidence in the secrecy of the vote, manipulation of food aid and agricultural programmes and other misuses of state resources,“ stated the EU Election Observer Mission final report.

Zimbabwe’s own government appointed Human Rights Commission confirmed that Zanu PF operatives and local traditional leaders harassed and threatened rural villagers.

In Zimbabwe, rural voters, especially, are nothing more than medieval serfs beholden to the overbearing Land Lord, Zanu PF. Many rural areas are facing starvation this year, Zaka East is one such area, and it is therefore naive to anything other than a land slide victory for the overbearing land lord!

Why is the opposition participating in these elections, when it is clear the process is flawed and illegal designed to deliver a rigged Zanu PF land slide victory? 

A legitimate and logical question but to answer it one has to go back to the beginning, 1980 when the gained her independence and Zanu PF started rigging elections. 

Zimbabwe’s first elections; to marked the end of white colonial rule and usher black majority rule; were NOT free, fair and credible. Zanu PF did not withdraw all its freedom fighters and operatives from the country side into Assembly Points as agreed in the Lancaster House Agreement. The operatives campaigned for the party and their message to the voters was clear - if the party did not win the elections, the civil war would continue. Of course, the people voted overwhelming to end the civil war! 

There are those who have argued that this was an empty Zanu PF threat and that the fear factor played no significant part in the elections results. This narrative has been totally discredited by the Gukurahundi massacre that started in 1983 when the regime proved beyond all doubt that it would stop at nothing to establish absolute power and its long cherish goal of a de facto one-party dictatorship. 

The Zanu PF dictatorship was corrupt and incompetent and with country’s economy in serious decline the people soon realised that to stop the economic rot they must end the dictatorship. For the last 20 years, the people have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders on the understanding that they will deliver the democratic changes to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. 

MDC leaders have had many golden opportunities to implement democratic reforms and dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship, especially during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, but wasted them all. MDC members were celebrating the party’s 20th birthday this week but have nothing much to show for it. The party has failed to implement even one token democratic reform in all its 20 years on the national political stage. Not even one!

Indeed, ever since the end of the GNU in 2013, MDC leaders have pointedly abandoned all attempts to implement the reforms, they have participated in elections knowing the process was flawed and illegal and Zanu PF would blatantly rig them to secure a land slide victory. They also know that Zanu PF would give away a few gravy train seats as bait to induce the oppositions to participate regardless of the rigging. 

MDC has won a few gravy train seats, especially in the urban areas, enabling such party leaders like Tendai Biti and David Coltart to return to parliament. Nelson Chamisa too benefited from the party getting a share of the annual Political Party Finance (Act) payout; $3.4 million this year and Chamisa, as party leader, got 20%, $680 000.  

MDC will continue participating in Zimbabwe’s flawed and illegal elections even in rural areas where Zanu PF has the rural voters under the cosh because the above payout is based on winning 5% or more of the total national vote cast during national elections. So the opposition parties need to cast their nets as wide as possible; every vote count. Every little helps!

This has worked in Zanu PF’s favour as the party needs the opposition’s continued participation in these flawed elections to give its own stay in office some modicum of political legitimacy. 

Like it or not Zimbabweans must now wake-up to the political reality that the nation’s concerted efforts to implement the democratic changes to end the Zanu PF dictatorship of the last 20 years have come to nought. Instead of implementing reforms and ensure there are free, fair and credible elections; MDC leaders sold-out on reforms and have settled for the few seats and trappings of power Zanu PF gives away as bait to entice the opposition to participate in flawed elections. 

If Zimbabweans hope to end the serious economic meltdown; which is now a lot worse than it was 20 years and the country is now in serious danger of complete economic collapse and social chaos; we must now come up with plan B on how to implement the reforms. Plan A of electing MDC leaders to do it has failed. 

“Zanu PF’s Zaka East parliamentary by-election landslide victory proves the party’s stranglehold on rural areas!” Actually, the result proves Zanu PF’s VOTE RIGGING stranglehold, which is a totally different kettle of fish! In rigged elections the ordinary people have no say and it is extremely patronising, to say the least, to suggest otherwise. And understanding the difference is a vital first step in our fight to get out of the economic and political mess we are in.