"But Coltart, a comparison of ‘worse' and ‘bad' does not make the ‘bad' good,” was Professor Jonathan Moyo’s answer to David Coltart, CCC Treasurer General’s hypothetical choice between “bad CCC government and worse Zanu PF”.
"You don't become a democrat by self-proclamation nor
does an old intolerant party become tolerant by a nominal change of its name;
when its base typically caricatures and demonises divergent views!"
Yes, given the choice of bad and worse, of course we will all
choose bad. But that is NOT the choice before the nation back in these 2023
elections or back in 2013. By failing to implement even one meaningful democratic
reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, when the nation had the best chance ever to
end Zanu PF’s carte blanche dictatorial powers to rig elections, the nation was
stuck with no meaningful electoral choice.
One of the late dictator Robert Mugabe’s political trickery
was to trick the late Morgan Tsvangirai and his team of special advisers, professors,
lawyers, engineers and God knows what else beside to believe, for five years of
the GNU, that MDC would win the elections without the need to implement even
token democratic reforms. Even now, with the benefit of hindsight, many of the
MDC/CCC leaders still believe in the oxymoronic nonsense of “winning rigged
elections” or at least pretend to!
The likes of David Coltart have known it is futile to participate
in the flawed and illegal elections. He has participated in the elections regardless
out of greed, he confessed in his book.
“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,” wrote
Coltart in his book The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in
Zimbabwe.
“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.”
Of all people, David Coltart, knows that with no meaningful democratic
reforms Zanu PF has blatantly rigged elections in the past and will do the same
in coming 2023 elections. And participating in these flawed and illegal elections
will only give vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
CCC is therefore conning ordinary Zimbabweans into believing
they are choosing between “bad” CCC and “worse” Zanu PF. When all they are doing
by participating in the flawed process is give Zanu PF legitimacy and in doing
so forfeit the chance to boycott the elections to demand reforms and free and fair
elections!
2 comments:
“If the choice before the voters was between Robert Mugabe and a donkey, they will vote for the donkey!” remarked Professor Jonathan Moyo in 2008.
Professor Moyo was stating the obvious; he was underlining just how desperate for change the people were after decades of rigged elections, corrupt and tyrannical rule by the Zanu PF dictatorship.
It so happened that the March 2008 vote was the nearest the nation ever got to holding a free, fair and credible elections and the opposition led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai garnered 73% of the vote, according to Mugabe’s Freudian slip. Mnangagwa boasted of how he, when other Zanu PF leaders had accepted electoral defeat, had reactivated the Zanu PF vote rigging machine. He stopped ZEC declaring the result and the machinery got to work.
It took Mnangagwa and company to six weeks to recount 5 million votes, to cook the figure whittling down Tsvangirai’s 73% to 47%, enough to force a runoff. During the runoff Zanu PF used wanton violence to punish the electorate for daring to reject the party in the March vote.
One of the most notorious acts of political mischief Mugabe has ever done was to outwit Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends into failing to implement even one reform during the GNU on the mistaken belief MDC can win rigged elections.
Zanu PF has conned the MDC/CCC into believing “even a donkey can win against Zanu PF!” And so, the nation has been dragged into one blatantly rigged election after another. Zanu PF might as well be using dice with 6 on all six sides and MDC/CCC betting on Zanu PF failing to throw another six!
MDC/CCC will participate in these flawed elections no matter how flawed and illegal the process gets. “God is in it!” has become Chamisa’s maxim. Of course, God is NOT in it because this is insane!
@ Cornelius Kona Tambo Ndlovu
“The opposition guys have a belief that by going to the elections without the Reforms a Zambian Scenario will take place in Zim. which I believe is a pipe dream.”
The political reforms that allowed the late Fredrick Chiluba to win power in Zambia are comparable to the reforms that preceded Zimbabwe’s March 2008 elections. Mnangagwa was able to step in before the results could be announced and the party reinstated the old vote rigging system with added features to make double sure Zanu PF will blatantly rig elections.
Mugabe did not only trick, bribe, MDC to do nothing about implementing reforms during the five years of the GNU; he tricked them into believing they can win blatantly rigged elections. This is like conning someone into betting against Zanu PF failing to throw a 6 when the dice has 6 on all 6 sides!
Chamisa is participating in these 2023 elections insisting “God is in it!” The real tragedy here is there are many Zimbabweans naïve enough to be conned even after 42 years of rigged elections!
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