Divide and rule, it is a tried and tested tactic as old as human history that has worked, particularly in conquering those easily divided!
Talk of easily divided,
it really does not take much to divide the MDC. Ever since the party’s
formation in 1999, the party has divided, subdivided and merged and divided
again and again. Each time the party has divided the members have lashed out at
each other with more venomous hatred than they have ever shown to Zanu PF, the opposition’s
main political opponent.
When Tendai Biti
and 8 other MPs broke away from Morgan Tsvangirai led MDC-T in 2014, Biti said it
had been easier to work with Mugabe than with Tsvangirai. Biti was Secretary General
of the party and MDC-T Minister of Finance in the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Tsvangirai recalled
the 9 MPs out of spite knowing fully well MDC-T was not going contest the by-elections
to at least try to win back the seats.
Of course, Robert
Mugabe was well aware there was no love lost between the MDC leaders and he was
not one to miss the opportunity to exploit this.
In the bloated GNU cabinet,
the smaller MDC-N faction led first by Arthur Mutambabra and then later by Welshman
Ncube had more ministers and deputy ministers then warranted by the party’s
elected MPs. The leaders of the two MDC factions were falling over each other
in their zeal to praise Mugabe forgetting that their primary task was to
implement the democratic reforms.
Biti called Mugabe “unflappable,
fountain of wisdom and father of the nation!” Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga,
MDC-N Minister in GNU was so impressed with Mugabe, she was “speechless!”
When SADC leaders
pressured the two MDC faction leaders not to participate in the 2013 elections
until meaningful reforms were implemented to ensure free and fair elections.
Mugabe defied SADC leaders and played his tramp card!
Mugabe was
confident that the mistrust between the two MDC factions was so deeply rooted
they would not trust each other to boycott the elections although that was the “obvious”
thing to do as one MDC leader readily admitted.
“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 (2013) elections,” admitted David Coltart in
his book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
Coltart was a MDC-N minister in the GNU.
“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.”
Mugabe got his wish;
the two MDC factions participate in the 2013 elections regardless all the
evidence Zanu PF was rigging the elections and thus giving Zanu PF legitimacy.
The MDC has since been participating in the flawed and illegal elections giving
vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
If there is a lesson
Mnangagwa has learned from his old mentor, Robert Mugabe, it is the importance
of dividing the opposition to keep them fighting each other instead of fighting
Zanu PF.
Mnangagwa created
the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) grouping all the losing candidates in the
2018 presidential race. The primary purpose of POLAD was to reward with perks the
candidates participating in the elections, doing their bit to give the flawed
election process credibility and thus encourage them to participate in future
elections. Mnangagwa has used POLAD to pressure Chamisa and a few others to
join.
There is no doubt
that Nelson Chamisa’s succession following Tsvangirai’s death in 2018 was
unconstitutional and a High Court judgement to that effect has led to the breakup
the Chamisa MDC A. A number of the party’s elected officials were forced to
switch allegiance to the Mwonzora led MDC-T and those who did not were recalled
last year, 2021.
We can be certain
that Mnangagwa has taken full advantage of Chamisa’s troubles. ZEC has stopped
the by-elections to fill the recalled elected official much to the anger of Chamisa
and company.
President Mnangagwa
has since announced the long-delayed by-elections will finally take place on 26
March 2022. Within hours of making this announcement the social media was
buzzing with the news that Douglas Mwonzora had met President Mnangagwa at
State House. This is a follow up to MDC-T’s call for interparty dialogue,
possibly leading to the formation of a new GNU.
“President
Mnangagwa, who was accompanied by Zanu PF Secretary for Finance Mr Patrick
Chinamasa and Acting Secretary to the President and Cabinet Mr George Charamba,
promised to respond to the MDC-T’s final position as soon as possible after
their own internal consultations within the government and their party,” MDC-T
spokesperson Witness Dube said in a statement.
There has been
talks of Chamisa and his MDC A grouping were considering boycotting the 2023
elections following the party’s recent #PRICECAMPAIGN demanding reforms before
elections.
The announcement of
the by-elections were going ahead will have forced MDC A to reconsider the boycott.
The report of Mwonzora, MDC A’s number one advisory, hobnobbing at State House has
left Chamisa and company fuming at the prospect of Mwonzora and company
participating in the elections and becoming the country’s main opposition
party.
So, President
Mnangagwa is going into these by-elections and 2023 national elections
confident that the divided opposition will participating giving Zanu PF
legitimacy.
Chamisa, Mwonzora
and the rest in the opposition camp have to be content sharing the few gravy
train seats Zanu PF is giving away as bait. They are betraying the masses for
thirty pieces of silver!
The real big losers are the ordinary people who continue to be denied their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and continue to suffer the ill effects of being stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. They are conned by the opposition to participate in the flawed elections under the false claim the opposition have “winning in rigged elections strategies”! Until the masses wise up, they will suffer!
11 comments:
Detail matters! Detail is everything! It is tragic that most people out there have completely failed to understand what David Coltart's confession means, even now with the benefit of hindsight!
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect these MDC leaders into power for express purpose of bring about the democratic changes necessary to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. They had the golden opportunity during the GNU to implement the reforms and yet they failed to implement even one reform.
They had the last-minute opportunity to remedy the situation by refusing to participate in the flawed elections and give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. It was the “obvious” thing to do! They did not do it because they could not bear the thought of their fellow MDC leaders winning the gravy train seats and being left out.
They did not mind betraying the nation on reforms during the GNU because they were too busy enjoying the trappings of high office. They did not want that interrupted. At the end of the GNU they participated in the flawed elections giving Zanu PF legitimacy for the sake of the few gravy train seats on offer as bait.
The only reason why there are Zimbabweans out there who still support these MDC leaders is only because Coltart’s confession is just water off the duck’s back. By participating in these flawed elections these people are giving Zanu PF legitimacy and digging their own graves. How a whole nation can be so thick, shallow, and slow is our greatest curse!
@ Kunaka
"spot on commentary!"
This is really tragic and infuriating too! MDC leaders should have implemented the reforms and dismantled the Zanu PF dictatorship a long time ago if they have not wasted time either enjoying the trappings of high office and/or fighting each other for the scraps! MDC leaders will never ever implement any meaningful reforms - that is a fact!
MDC Alliance spokesperson Advocate Fadzayi Mahere was non-committal when asked if her party would participate in the by-elections.
"At the appropriate time, we will set out our position to the people," said Adv Mahere.
She, however, said the proclamation for elections must be accompanied by "a clear reforms roadmap that paves the way for an undisputed election".
"We reiterate our call for the alignment of electoral laws to the Constitution, the full implementation of existing electoral laws especially as they pertain to state media," she said.
MDC A leaders participated in the 2013 and 2018 elections knowing fully well that the electoral playing field was not level, worse still knowing that by participating they would give the election process “credibility”, as David Coltart put it, and thus give the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. They still went ahead and participated regardless because they were after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was offering to entice their participation.
So, if MDC A were to refuse participating in these coming elections it can only be because they fear their chance of winning the few gravy train seats has been considerably reduced by Zanu PF thuggery and/or the opposition challengers are stronger.
“A clear reforms roadmap!” Yeah right! Why is it important now?
“MDCA in Masvingo revealed that their member John Mupanduki 29 was abducted by unknown assailants in the wee hours of today at his home at Nyika growth point. His whereabouts a still not known. # political hand suspected.# Human rights violations.
@ProfJNMoyo
@usembassyharare,” Media Centre wrote on Twitter.
Thousands of opposition supporters were murdered by Zanu PF hooligans and State security agents during the 2008 Presidential Election runoff
Ever since the violence incidences that accompanied Nelson Chamisa’s rallies in October last year there have been one or two stories of politically motived violence in the country every week. The 2008 elections were a watershed in that the nation witnessed just how serious this problem of politically motivated violence had become. The nation should have committed itself to deal with this problem.
Indeed, in setting up the 2008 to 2013 GNU, SADC leaders created to golden opportunity for Zimbabwe to implement the democratic reforms and end the curse of rigged elections. Sadly, MDC leaders sold-out and failed to implement even one reform.
Worse still MDC leaders have been misleading the people into participating in flawed and illegal elections under the pretext the party has “winning in rigged election strategies!” All hot air because Zanu PF has been rigging these election and, by participating, all the people are doing is giving Zanu PF legitimacy.
@ Arthur Mntungwa
“Common man. It's always easy to split, or be caused to split as Opposition in politics, particularly in African politics. It happened numerous times during the African Majority Rule Nationalism, and Liberation Struggle era. The reason is simple, Opposition in Africa us about being highly principled, not for those seeking positions, power and money in politics. Do you think ZANU is united? People stick with ZANU just because it is power and can dish out favours. No Liberation party in Africa has survived in Opposition, when it can no longer dish out the favours. ZANU can never survive in Opposition. That is why they will fight tooth and nail to stay in power!”
I totally agree, our political leaders, on both sides of the political divide, have proven beyond doubt that they are corrupt, incompetent and, in the case of Zanu PF, vote rigging murderous thugs with no sense of duty or values. All they care about is absolute power and the spoils it brings.
The present political system has produced thugs because no men or women of quality can survive such a stifling environment. If the country is to ever get out of this mess then we must implemented the democratic reforms, drain the sewage pond and create a healthy political environment in which competent and quality leaders can emerge.
Both Zanu PF and MDC will fight tooth and nail to stop meaningful democratic reforms being implemented because leaders from the two parties know they will never survive long in a healthy and functioning democratic environment.
David Coltart's confession has shed some light into why Zimbabwe is stuck in this economic and political mess with a corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime which we seemingly find impossible to remove from office. Coltart admit Zanu PF was rigging the elections and that by participating the opposition was giving Zanu PF legitimacy. The obvious thing to do was to stop participating in an election process that is so flawed the result of a Zanu PF landslide victory was guaranteed. Yet participating is what Coltart and his fellow opposition politicians did in 2013 and have been doing to this day. Why?
Well Coltart and company also knew that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate and this they could not resist.
So Zimbabwe are stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship all because the opposition cannot team their greed. The people risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power to dismantle the dictatorship and, when MDC leaders tasted power, they switched and have been helping Zanu PF to stay in power in return for a share of the spoils of power.
The people of Zimbabwe must wake up to the reality that MDC leaders are sell outs, they wasted their opportunity to implement reforms, they are fighting for the share of the dictatorial power and not to end the dictatorship. The people must wake up to the reality MDC leaders' "winning in rigged elections strategies" are just hot air.
The people must go back to demanding the implementation of democratic changes to ensure free, fair and credible elections. The idea of accepting that anyone should ever have the right to rig elections and that the rest must then devise strategies to win the rigged elections is an oxymoron. No one should ever have the right to rig elections, period!
The MDC Alliance leader now has a tough decision ahead of the sitting of the nomination court on February 26 – to roll the dice and fight for the name, or register a completely different party and emblem.
"The MDC-T is the leader of the MDC Alliance electoral pact which still subsists up to today. In the upcoming by-elections, there are constituencies belonging to our Alliance partners PDP and we intend to honour that agreement," said Dube.
The MDC Alliance, meanwhile, is keeping its cards close to the chest, and supporters are wondering for how long. Chamisa recently asked supporters on social media to pick a colour – thought to be part of the rebranding planning.
MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said: "At the appropriate time, we will set our position to the people."
She maintained that their key priority was electoral reforms to guarantee free and fair elections.
"We reiterate our call for the alignment of electoral laws to the Constitution," she said. "We also demand the full implementation of existing electoral laws especially as they pertain to state media, the full disbandment of the partisan and militarised ZEC secretariat and full reform of the commission itself as we set out in our draft Electoral Amendment Bill and our Electoral Reform document, PRICE, that sets out in detail the principles that must be observed for a credible election.
"We demand bona fide engagement with ZEC which has a constitutional duty to engage major stakeholders with a view to ensuring electoral reforms are implemented. To set an election date without addressing the vexed electoral reforms question is to put the cart before the horse. The need for reforms is non-negotiable."
MDC leader had the chance of forcing Zanu PF to accept the need for reforms by boycotting the 2013 elections. SADC leaders, who were the guarantor of the 2008 Global Political Agreement which gave rise to the GNU and was still in force, literally begged MDC leaders postpone elections until reforms were implemented.
Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends decided to participate in the flawed elections regardless. MDC leaders also knew that by participating they would be giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF.
David Coltart has since admitted in his book that boycotting the elections was the obvious and logical thing to do but greed got the better of them. All the MDC leaders were aware that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate and they found this bribe irresistible.
MDC leaders participated in the 2013 elections and then again in the 2018 elections knowing Zanu PF was rigging these elections and that participating will give Zanu PF legitimacy.
So why the sudden change of heart on the MDC A’s part. “The need for reforms is non-negotiable!”
It is no secret that Chamisa and company are broke, as in being penniless! Since the High Court judgement stripping Chamisa of the leadership of the party; Chamisa and company have been booted out of the Morgan Tsvangirai House, all those who lost their elected seats lost the generous salary and perks that comes with it, etc. It is clear as day that the party does not have the resources to finance a meaningful election campaign and so it is withdrawing. Instead of admitting the party is withdrawing for financial reasons, it claims that it is doing so to demand reforms!
Mnangagwa needs the opposition to participate in these flawed elections for legitimacy and therefore each time any opposition party boycott the elections demanding reforms, falsely or otherwise, Zanu PF has reason to worry because this is an outstanding sore.
MDC leaders boycotting by-elections in hard times is nothing new. All the MDC factions boycotted the by-elections from 2013 to 2018. The cover then was the MDC-T party congress “No reform, no elections!” resolution.
It was no secret that MDC-T and MDC-N were broke because most of the parties’ financial backers had deserted them in droves following the pathetic performance of the parties in the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The MDC leaders had failed to implement even one token democratic reform during the GNU.
However, the party resolution was quickly forgotten as the 2018 elections approached. The opposition knows that Zanu PF needs the opposition to participate to maintain the façade Zimbabwe is a healthy multi-party democracy. And to entice the opposition to participate, Zanu PF gives away a few gravy train seats during national elections but not necessarily during by-elections.
“To set an election date without addressing the vexed electoral reforms question is to put the cart before the horse. The need for reforms is non-negotiable," said Fadzai Mahere now. Come 2023 elections Mahere and the rest of the MDC A leaders will conveniently forget they ever said this as they participate in the elections with no reform in place!
President Chamisa urged citizens to ignore negative comments about the people’s struggle.
“Dear Zimbabwe: When we appear muted we are pressing the buttons, ahead of the game, in charge and in control. Blessed day to you,” President Chamisa wrote on Twitter.
Chamisa has become the master of mumbo-jumbo! We are not lost, just that we don’t know where we are! The tragedy for Zimbabwe is that his wildebeest herd drilled in accepting rhetoric and empty slogans no questions asked are following him blindly like sheep to the slaughter.
Of course, no one should be surprised the country is in this serious economic and political mess – a nation whose citizens cannot think for themselves is a doomed nation. One of the top democratic reforms that must be implemented a.s.a.p. is freeing the media and making sure there is freedom of expression, free debate and healthy democratic competition.
Chamisa has no clue what is going on but, typical of the man, claims that he not only knows the game but is in total control! “Ahead of the game!” Yeah right! He is just blundering from pillar to post!
The South African Department of Home Affairs, SAPS and SADF have reportedly set up a massive roadblock between Hammanskraal and Kranshop in preparation for mass deportation of undocumented Zimbabweans.
Scores of undocumented Zimbabwean nationals who access the country by jumping the border fence are being deported back to Zimbabwe. A road block has been set up between Musina and the border. Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is conducting a site inspection.
Zimbabweans are running away from Mnangagwa's upper middle-income vision 2030, after decades of living in abject poverty, the coming economic prosperity is all too much. Zimbabweans are voting with the feet and escaping to SA where there is economic poverty!
How much is SA spending in this utterly wasteful exercise of rounding up Zimbabweans and deporting them knowing fully well this is just a revolving door. If the 2023 elections are rigged, all signs are Zanu PF is rigging the elections as usual, there will be a flood of Zimbabweans leaving the country. Zimbabwe has really become the neighbour from hell!
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has banned Civic Society Organisation (CSOs) that are not accredited with them from conducting voters education ahead of the 26 March by-elections and 2023 general elections.
On Friday last week, ZEC released a list of 76 CSOs that it has approved to conduct voter education countrywide.
This is just a waste of time and resources; elections are not free, fair and credible and no amount of voter education will ever change that!
After 41years and counting of rigged elections it is an outrage that the people are being patronised and taught how to vote. Please, please, address the underlaying causes of the rigged elections; the failure to produce verified voters’ roll, the culture of political violence, etc.
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