“Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga's suspension of by-elections cannot be read in isolation as it is part of a well-thought-out strategy to stifle democracy in Zimbabwe,” reported The Standard.
“Chiwenga on Friday amended the Covid-19 regulations to stop the holding of parliamentary and municipal by-elections scheduled for December 5.
“The Covid-19 pandemic was used as a perfect cover for the latest grand scheme to weaken the mainstream opposition party through the misuse of the law and pure political skulduggery.”
Zimbabwe is not a democracy and the real “political skulduggery” is to suggest that suspending a flawed and illegal election process is “a well-thought-out strategy to stifle democracy.” This is an oxymoron, you cannot stifle something that is not there.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections to secure a 2/3 majority in parliament and the presidency. Whether these by-elections go ahead or not that will not change the political arithmetic since the by-elections are for seats of recalled opposition MPs and councillors.
Nelson Chamisa and his friends in the opposition camp participated in the July 2018 elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging those elections. The opposition politicians also knew that Zanu PF was going to allow the opposition to win a few gravy train seats, bait to entice them to participate. And that was what Chamisa et al were after.
By participating in the flawed and illegal elections the opposition have, per se, given credibility to the election process and, by extension, given some modicum of legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime.
Of course, MDC leaders and all the opposition participating in the flawed elections have all sold-out on the cause of implementing the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
What Zimbabwe needs is to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
Without reforms Zanu PF will continue to blatantly rig the elections and those calling for these flawed and illegal elections to continue, under the pretext they are fighting for democracy, are not doing Zimbabwe any favours.
Zimbabwe is in this economic mess, the economy is in total meltdown and millions are living in heartbreaking abject poverty, and political paralysis, with corrupt and tyrannical ruling party and an equally corrupt and useless opposition, because the country has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections.
40 years and counting of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have left the country economic ruins. And 40 years of stifled debate and democratic oppression has forced all competent man and woman out of politics leaving the field open to corrupt and ruthless thugs.
After 40 years of rigged elections we should be crystal clear what we want: free, fair and credible elections! We should also be crystal clear what we do not want: flawed and illegal elections, including by-elections.
12 comments:
Trust Maanda, the Election Resource Centre chairman, said the suspension of by-elections by Chiwenga was unconstitutional.
"It is not only illegal, but unconstitutional because elections are timed in terms of the provisions of the constitution and there can be no regulation particularly by a single minister that can overturn or usurp the authority of the constitutional provision," Maanda said.
"You cannot postpone democracy and provisions of the constitution unless you amend that constitution.
"Power to govern is derived from the people through constitutional means and the constitution provides for how people must be governed and anything outside that is illegal and also affects one of the three arms of the state, which is Parliament, and there will be a crisis."
Douglas Coltart, a human rights lawyer, said Chiwenga's ban delivered through a statutory instrument cannot withstand legal scrutiny.
"Firstly, it effectively suspends section 158 sub-section 3 of the constitution, which stipulates the time within which by-elections need to be conducted.
"A statutory instrument has no power to suspend a constitution," Coltart said.
The tragedy with Zimbabwe is we have some first class village idiots masquerading as intellectuals.
Zanu PF blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections. ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for the July 2018 elections, a legal and common sense requirement, for Pete’s sake.
“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability,” stated the EU Election Mission final report.
“As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”
Nelson Chamisa and his fellow MDC leaders participated in the July 2018 knowing that Zanu PF will rig the election. They also knew that Zanu PF will give away a few gravy train seats and these they could not resist.
MDC leaders first sold-out on the national cause of securing free, fair and credible elections by failing to implement even one reform during the GNU. And have sold-out again since by participating in flawed elections.
There was deafening silence from our village idiots on flawed elections and the opposition selling out. Indeed, many of the idiots have even endorsed the rigged 2018 elections.
The village idiots are determined to see the by-elections go ahead regardless of the fact they are being held under exactly the same conditions as the July 2018 elections - i.e. no verified voters’ roll, no transparency, etc. Zanu PF will rig these by-elections, if the party so wished, just as readily as it rigged the July 2018 elections.
Zimbabwe’s next elections MUST meet international standards; they must be free, fair and credible. It is foolish to keep participating in these flawed and illegal elections. If the elections are flawed and illegal, who cares if they are cancelled or not!!!
Speaking during a meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Policy Review Body meeting, attended by deputy Foreign Affairs minister David Musabayana recently, the UK's ambassador to the WTO and United Nations, Julian Braithwaite said while the government's efforts to reform were welcome, there was still a need for the government to implement fundamental reforms in order for the country to unlock international trade among other things.
"We welcome the government of Zimbabwe's commitment to economic and political reforms and hope to see more trade and investment with Zimbabwe in the future. We believe there is notable potential in the renewable energy, agriculture and financial services sectors; sectors with the potential to improve livelihoods and financial inclusion.
"While we recognise the challenges caused by external shocks such as Cyclone Idai and now Covid-19, we continue to be deeply concerned by the lack of fundamental reforms. This is leading to the economic crisis that most Zimbabweans are facing today. Inflation has continued to rise with the year on year inflation rate for the month of July 2020 standing at 838 percent. Extreme poverty has increased and humanitarian needs are rising," Braithwaite said.
Braithwaite added that meaningful progress on reforms, along with respect for human rights and the rule of law, were the only ways to sustainably deal with Zimbabwe's underlying challenges, unlock significant investment and bring about a better future for the country and its people.
"As noted in the reports prepared for this review, corruption continues to hamper Zimbabwe's development by capturing public and private resources, distorting economic decision making and undermining governance and accountability.
Little wonder Mnangagwa is now as keen as mustard to make sure no western election observers are credited to observe the country’s next elections. He is not going to implement any democratic reforms. Frankly, it is naive, to say the least, to expect Zanu PF to reform itself out of office!
@ Daily Maverick
Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A), is imploding as the country's ruling Zanu-PF conspires with a tiny MDC splinter group, the Movement for Democratic Change Tsvangirai (MDC-T), to help it seize the much bigger party's parliamentary seats and other elected offices, headquarters and finances. Zanu-PF has also arrested several MDC-A leaders over the past few weeks and has now accused it of plotting an armed struggle.
The destruction of the MDC-A threatens to create a de facto one-party state in Zimbabwe - which is Zanu-PF's intention of course - some MDC-A leaders believe. With the help of "captured" - pro- Zanu-PF - judges and a Zanu-PF Speaker of Parliament, the MDC-A, led by Nelson Chamisa, has already lost about 30 members of Parliament, senators and many local government mayors and councillors to the tiny MDC-T, led by Thokozani Khupe.
Ever since Mugabe swallowed up the late Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu with the signing of the 1987 Unity Accord, following the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre, Zimbabwe has been a de facto one-party state.
The only time anyone had the chance to dismantle the one-party dictatorship was during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Sadly, the chance was wasted because MDC sold-out. Mugabe bribed Tsvangirai and company with the trappings of high office and with the snouts in the feeding trough they forgot to implement the democratic reforms.
Ever since their failure to implement any reforms MDC leaders have given up on reforms and settled for whatever scraps Zanu PF throws at them.
Anyone who blames Zanu PF for the infighting tearing MDC apart is not being honest; Chamisa is the principle culprit for this, when he seized power, he broke the party’s own constitution.
To suggest Zimbabwe will be a de facto one party state because the MDC infighting is tearing the party is an exaggeration. The MDC has never been a serious threat to Zanu PF’s hold on power especially after Tsvangirai and company sold-out during the 2008 GNU.
@ Lungisani Ndlovu
“Patriarchy directs that the man is the head and provider, protector and the guide of the family, and the mother on the other hand is to assist in carrying out these duties. .. and she does so with joy to raise children who will grow to be responsible members of society,” you wrote.
“Now that we're on a different part of the world, we can't begin to see our good fathers, back home, as domineering, harsh, demanding, control freaks, selfish, socially illiterate, rude, stubborn etc. This kind of behaviour is an attack on Africa and blackness in general.”
The problem with this article is that it is vague to the point of being pointless. Surely you are not suggesting that there is not even one example where African patriarchal culture has failed society. Having come up with that example does not mean everything in African culture is bad and must be thrown out.
By the same token giving an example of where the African culture has served society well does not prove everything in African culture is good.
What was it that Nomazulu said that you found objectionable?
Zimbabwe has been independent now for the last 40 years and one would think by now the nation has finally figured out what constitute free, fair and credible elections particularly when this is the root cause of the country economic and political crisis. Sadly, the nation is still confused and lost, blundering blindly from pillar to post, from crisis to crisis.
Mnanganga and his Zanu PF cronies insist the elections are free, fair and credible. They are the ones who have corrupted the nation’s state institutions such as the Police, ZEC and the Judiciary and imposed the de facto one-party dictatorship with its carte blanche powers to rig the elections. All Zanu PF cares about securing and retaining absolute political power. The party does not care it has denied the masses their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful vote and even the right to life.
Mnangagwa and his cronies are not smart, the very fact they are presiding over a nation in economic ruins speaks volumes, but when it comes to riding roughshod over the people’s freedoms and rights they were as deliberate as they were ruthless. It was no accident that the election process was not transparent; there was no verified voters’ roll so nothing could be traced and verified; 3 million in the diaspora were denied the vote; etc.
Mnangagwa and his cronies’ stupidity comes to its own in that they actually expected everyone to endorse the elections as free, fair and credible regardless of all the blatant flaws and illegalities.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders knew that with no reforms in place, Zanu PF was going to rig the elections. They also knew that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate. Chamisa and company participate in the flawed and illegal elections out of greed - pure and simple.
The failure by Zimbabweans, from both side of the political divide, to condemn the July 2018 elections with the firm and decisiveness the matter demanded betrays the nation’s failure to understand what constitute free, fair and credible elections much less the consequences of rigged elections.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections to stay in power. It was no accident that the election process was not transparent; that ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll; that 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora were denied the vote; etc.; etc. The stupidity of Mnangagwa and his cronies came to its own in that they actually expected everyone, including the western election observers, to endorse the rigged elections.
Nelson Chamisa and his fellow opposition politicians knew that with no reforms Zanu PF will rig the elections. They also knew that Zanu PF would give away a few gravy train seat; bait to entice the opposition to participate in the elections. And so the opposition did participate out of greed.
The very fact that a number of people view the cancelation of the by-elections as a serious affront on democracy is prove they consider the July 2018 elections as democratic elections. It was no accident that the election process was not transparent; that ZEC failed to produce a verified voters’ roll; that 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora were denied the vote; etc.; etc. Zimbabwe is in this perilous situation of serious economic meltdown and political paralysis precisely because of the country has been stuck for 40 years with a corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. And so it beggars belief that anyone could still be ambivalent about Zimbabwe being anything but a dictatorship!
So why have these Zimbabwe failed to understand what constitutes free, fair and credible elections even after they have been presented with the mountain of evidence proving the elections were rigged and they can see the tragic consequences of 40 years of bad governance?
The problem is not with the evidence but with the people themselves; they see but do not perceive, they hear but do not understand.
It was the great Greek philosopher Socrates, 2 500 years ago, who said: “Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.”
So instead of fighting for the implementation of the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections which strong minded people are doing; these feeble minded Zimbabweans are fighting to perpetuate the flawed and illegal election process.
Mnangagwa thought he could rig economic recovery and he has clearly failed to do so. The country's economic meltdown is getting worse and worse, millions now live in extreme poverty, the country's basic services such as health care and education have all but collapsed, etc.
What is clear is that Mnangagwa and his cronies would rather burn down the whole country than countenance holding free, fair and credible elections and have anyone else rule the country. It is now up to the people themselves to decide whether to accept their fate like sheep to the slaughter or to stand up and demand democratic change.
For the last 40 years Zanu PF has frog marched this nation deeper and deeper into this hell-on-earth. The nation has had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, notably during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, but have wasted them all.
Nations get the government they deserve and we, in Zimbabwe, certainly deserve this corrupt and murderous Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its entourage of equally corrupt and useless opposition parties.
Of course, we have the political power to end this madness, we are powerless but only because we wanted to be powerless. We have remained ignorant and therefore powerless because we refused to open our eyes to Zanu PF thuggery and MDC selling-out much less do something to stop it. And now we are paying dearly for it.
The challenge now is are we going to finally open our eyes and take up our duty of understanding what is happening and to demand good governance. It is up to us to end the Zanu PF madness or perish!
Even if the by-elections went ahead, most of the seat on the table are those Zanu PF had allowed the opposition to win in the July 2018 elections. Even if the opposition was to win back all the seats, Zanu PF will still have its 2/3 majority in parliament and the presidency.
The July 2018 elections should NOT have taken place without first implementing the democratic reforms necessary to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections. We know why the MDC factions together with the rest of other opportunists in the opposition camp participated in the elections knowing fully well the process was flawed and illegal - greed.
Worse still, the opposition politicians KNEW that by participating in the flawed elections they would be giving the process credibility and, by extension, giving the illegitimate Zanu PF regime legitimacy; as David Coltart has admitted in his Book.
As long as Zanu PF is assured of the opposition participating in these flawed and illegal elections and thus giving the regime legitimacy the party will never ever allow meaningful reforms to be implemented. Never! And why would it!
The only way to force Zanu PF to accept the need to implement the reforms is by making the threat to boycott elections until reforms are implemented REAL. No one, absolutely no one, is to participate in elections, including by-elections, without first implementing the reforms. All those who still continue to participate must be shown for who they really are - sell outs with no political credibility!
The village idiots clamouring for the by-elections to go ahead today are the same idiots who will be clamouring to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms in place. We must take them head-on now and leave them in no doubt that they are selling-out!
How many times have we heard the opposition complain that Zanu PF rigged the elections and yet time and time again they have contrived to participate in the next elections, regardless. It is high time we put an end to this nonsense. Enough is enough!
If the next elections go ahead with no reforms in place then we must make sure that SADC and the AU, they endorsed the rigged July 2018 elections, join the rest international community in condemning the elections and declare Zanu PF illegitimate.
If we cannot force Zanu PF to implement the reforms before the next elections then we must do the next best thing, make sure Zanu PF is declared illegitimate. The cycle of rigged election and bad governance must be broken one way or the other!
The argument that Zanu PF is creating a fake MDC party to win the 2023 elections is flawed. Zanu PF won the 2018 elections, the 2013 elections, etc., etc. are we to therefore concluded that the MDC parties contesting in all these elections were fake? It so happened that Nelson Chamisa led the MDC Alliance in the 2018 elections and lost one have to ask what has happened to Chamisa since then to make him special?
The truth is Zanu PF won the 2018, 2013, etc. elections because the party rigged the elections. MDC had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. MDC leaders sold-out and failed to get even one reform implemented. Not even one reform!
Both T Khupe and Nelson Chamisa were senior MDC member in the 2008 GNU. They have both proven beyond all reason doubt that they are corrupt, incompetent and sell-out! The euphoric and fanatical support Hakata is showing on Chamisa is therefore unfounded and foolish!
Yes, there is a real danger of Zimbabwe descending into violence and anarchy but both Zanu PF thugs and MDC leaders are to blame for it. Zanu PF thugs imposed the dictatorship that dragged us into this mess and by selling out on the reforms MDC leaders have helped keep us stuck in this mess.
Nothing epitomises the sheer foolishness in the opposition than the dog-eat-dog fighting in MDC. It is utterly pointless!
“Mthuli Ncube says the economy is on the path to sustainable growth. This is just more smoke & mirrors. How can any economy be on the right path when doctors and teachers are being paid slave wages and the political elite are looting millions?,” said Coltart.
Yesterday, Professor Ncube said government’s efforts to turnaround and place the economy on a path to sustainable growth were bearing fruit.
“Price stability is now visible in line with convergence of parallel and auction rates. (Government also) introduced a second auction system for small scale operators,” Ncube noted.
Zanu PF have kept their upbeat view of the economy for the last 40 years completely at odds with the reality on the ground as the country has followed a stead economic decline throughout those years. Professor Mthuli Ncube is only being faithful to the Zanu PF tradition.
Coltart should be admitting that MDC would have put an end to this tragedy by implementing the democratic reforms when the party had the chance to do so. He has not made any such admission because he is a hypocrite!
Post a Comment