“Look, you can't keep on participating in flawed electoral processes that serve to give big benefits to dictators such as Robert Mugabe. Mugabe has perfected the art of winning elections. So it will be very foolish for the opposition to continue legitimizing these sham elections which don't deliver. This country will go through a serious economic crisis in 2020 caused by Zanu PF. And yet, this is the only country where a government doesn't perform, it is encouraged by a super majority in parliament,” said Tendai Biti in a 2015 interview with Isaac Mugabi.
“So you can't continue subjecting Zimbabweans to processes
where their hopes just get crushed.”
There are four key points in Biti’s admission:
1)
The elections are not just flawed and illegal
they are so flawed the opposition cannot win
2)
Zanu PF is guaranteed of a super majority which
the regime then uses to do as it pleases
3)
By participating in the flawed elections, the
opposition is giving Zanu PF legitimacy.
4)
Tendai Biti is well aware of the consequences of
the participating in these flawed elections is crushing the hopes for
meaningful political and economic change in the country. The consequences of
giving Zanu PF legitimacy is perpetuating the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship.
The reader will be interested to know that Tendai Biti’s
condemnation of the opposition’s position of participating in the flawed 2013
elections was not a lightning bolt out of the clear blue sky. MDC-T 2014 party
congress had come out with a resolution they party would not participate in any
future elections and by elections until democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF
rigging the elections were implemented.
“No reforms! No elections!” was the new MDC-T party slogan.
By the end of 2015 MDC-T had ditched the resolution to stop participating
in elections until democratic reforms were implemented. The party was openly
admitting it would participate in the upcoming 2018 elections.
Tendai Biti, who had broken away to form his own party,
reconciled to his former MDC-T friends to form the MDC Alliance which went on
to participate in the 2018 elections – forgetting Biti’s June 2015 denouncing
participation as foolish and MDC-T party resolution.
There was no follow-up interview with Biti, asking him why
he and his MDC friends have continued participating in flawed elections post
2015, knowing fully well doing so only gave vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy, perpetuated
the dictatorship and thus the suffering of the people! Of course, Biti and his
opposition colleagues were asked the question but have been very careful to
avoid answering it or else offered so feeble excuse for participating.
The only MDC leader who has given an explanation why MDC has
consistently participate in flawed elections was David Coltart.
“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,” confessed
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.”
MDC leaders realised the sheer stupidity of participating in
the flawed elections but reason was trumped by greed. They each had their eyes
set on winning the few gravy train seats they knew Zanu PF was giving away to
entice the opposition to participate.
Indeed, SADC leaders had advised the two MDC factions not to
participate in the 2013 elections without first implementing the reforms. The
good advice fell on deaf ear because of greed.
As noted above, four of the main MDC factions came together
to form the MDC Alliance (MDC A) before the 2018 elections, the united party
did not stop them participating in that year’s elections.
CCC is basically MDC A rebranded, it still constitutes the
main opposition winning 43% of the vote according to ZEC 2018 result and the remaining
40 plus opposition parties winning 4% of the vote. So, for CCC boycotting the
2023 elections would make a lot of sense, to follow Coltart’s argument: more so
now given the 42 years of rigged elections. And yet Chamisa and co are hell
bent on participating in these flawed elections for the same reasons as before -
greed and breath-taking incompetence!
4 comments:
When President Cyril Ramaphosa meets newly appointed UK prime minister Rishi Sunak this week, he will try to persuade him to have the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe lifted.
This is according to Ramaphosa's special adviser on international relations Maropene Ramokgopa, who told TimesLIVE Premium Zimbabwe's general elections in 2023 will form part of the agenda during a meeting between the two leaders on the much-anticipated historic state visit in London.
"They are affecting SA in a very difficult way. The reason there is a lot of migration from Zimbabwe is because people are running away from economic hardships. It's not because they want to leave home, and the sanctions are not assisting in any way. So we'd like them to look at it differently," she said.
SADC has been a weak and directionless body because South Africa, the country that should, by virtue of its economic muscle, should play the leadership role is feeble and utterly useless. The late Nelson Mandela set SA on a democratic path and all those who have followed him have been a complete disaster.
Zimbabweans have been leaving the country in droves for the last two decades to escape the economic meltdown and political pression and only the brainwashed Zanu PF supporters believe the root cause of the economic and political mess is the sanctions. It is really disappointing that the SA government is now counted amongst the brainwashed.
Zanu PF is worried about the international community refusing to grant the regime legitimacy after next year’s rigged elections. Getting the sanctions lifted and securing its readmission into the Commonwealth will give Zanu PF the confidence the party can rig the elections and get away with it.
Getting the sanctions lifted and Zimbabwe readmitted into the Commonwealth on the eve of Zimbabwe elections is one of the most foolish things anyone can do.
What President Cyril Ramaphosa must know is that if Zanu PF rigs 2023 elections and the regime is given legitimacy then there will be a new wave of economic and political refugees crossing the Limpopo River. No doubt the penny will finally drop that the root cause of Zimbabwe crisis is the decades of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship and not the scapegoat sanctions.
Of course, it is infuriating that another opportunity to end the Zanu PF dictatorship by maintain the sanctions and withholding Commonwealth membership is be wasted! Power is now in the hands of village idiots and we are all paying dearly for it.
“After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.” Genesis 8: 6 - 11
Zimbabwe has had the great misfortune of having corrupt and ravenous ravens for leaders after the flood of the war of independence. Instead of upholding the values of freedom, liberty and “One man! One vote!” the nation had been fighting for ever since the white man colonised the country; Mugabe and his cronies became the new oppressors.
“Mistakes were made!” admitted Robert Mugabe, in one of his post 2017 military coup interviews.
Mistakes! The 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre of PF Zapu leaders and supporters was not a mistake! It was a deliberate and calculated move force now late Dr Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu colleague to sign the 1987 Zanu PF-PF Zapu Unity Accord and thus clear the deck for the imposition of the de facto one-party dictatorship. Many more innocent lives have been since then to retain the dictatorship.
For the last two decades the people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders on the understanding the party would implement the democratic reforms, dismantle the dictatorship and restore the individual freedoms and rights. It is sad that the MDC leaders have not only failed to implement even one reform in 22 years but worst of all they are now the one giving Zanu PF legitimacy!
As soon as the MDC leaders got into power, Mugabe knew exactly what to do; he gave the MDC leaders ministerial limos, very generous salaries and allowances, a US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. The ravenous ravens forgot all about the reforms not only during the GNU years but ever since.
Like it or not, MDC leaders have given up on reforms and free elections; the ravens have been feasting on dead they are never ever going to fly back! Never!
The need for Zimbabwean to find competent leaders, enough of these ravens, has never been more urgent than it is today. We are in a deep hell-on-earth of our own making; it is naïve to expect the ravens who dragged us into the hole to get us out!
Dread Zhuwao and Johnso have shown that Baba’s principles clearly didn’t cascade down to these two.
Johnso’s treachery I could understand as he has a long history of flip flopping, but Patrick muzukuru came as a major shock.
So much for blood being thicker than water! Baba would have never stood for this shameful kind of weakness.
Never in a thousand years! Munopenga!
It is ironic that some of the G40 leaders have down to town denouncing the Jonathan Moyo and Zhuwao betrayal and yet they have never said anything about the Zanu PF Gukurahundi massacre, the election coup of 2008 and many other Zanu PF crimes against this nation! It only goes to show that all they really care about is power and their selfish interests!
@ Mungo
“And you think Zanu will cancel elections because opposition boycotted.
Zanu pf is actually comfortable with one party state which they have been pushing since the eighties. We will not let you distract us.”
Ignorance is curse worse than death, since the 2008 elections Zanu PF has since realised that the party needs the opposition to participate in these flawed elections to get legitimacy and avoid another GNU! Zanu PF has been giving away a few gravy train seat to entice the opposition to participate no matter how flawed the process!
Mnangagwa has even created POLAD to reward the losing presidential candidate and make sure they keep participating in the elections.
“Zanu PF is actually comfortable with one party state which they have been pushing since the eighties.” The 2008 elections has forced Zanu PF to change and adopt and you are still stuck in the 1980s one-party state mentality! Chamisa and company are cooperating with zanu PF for the sake of a few gravy train seats and you haven’t notice!
Fcuk me! No wonder the country is stuck in this mess! With such foolish voters, we have no chance of ever getting out of this hell-on-earth. None!
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