“I get annoyed sometimes when l discovered that a person who is in Diaspora is supporting Zanu PF and they have got an offices in other countries. We must defeat Zanu PF politically like HH did in Zambia. We don't use violence. Our dignity will be to come back, don't pretend to be what you are not. Let us go back home and vote for a change.” Is a comment that has been well received in my whatsApp group.
I get annoyed when trash, devoid of any intellectual merit, is dished out and received with the reverence befitting that of a holy sacrament!
If the elections were free and fair I am convinced that Mnangagwa would lose these elections to a donkey if that was the only alternative even if not even one Zimbabwean in the diaspora returned home. The question then is: why are we having these flawed elections, so flawed there is not even something as basic as a verified voters' roll, hundreds of thousands of voters will be frogmarched to vote for Zanu PF, etc., etc.?
Answer: because we have failed to implement the democratic reforms even when we had the golden opportunity to do so during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends sold out. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office and the rest is history.
Ever since the GNU debacle MDC/CCC have participated in rigged elections for the same reasons why they failed to implement even one reform during the GNU - greed and breath-taking incompetence. They have known all along that by participating they are giving legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF, as David Coltart readily admitted.
“The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
Chamisa and company have insisted in participating in these flawed elections because they are after the few gravy train seats and/or the POLAD freebies Zanu PF has offered as bait. And to hide their blatant betrayal in failing to implement reforms and to hide their greed, the opposition have been pedalling the lie Zimbabwe does not need to implement the democratic reforms because they (CCC) have devised strategies of winning in rigged elections (wire).
CCC’s flagship wire strategy was “Mass voter registration, mass voting and protect the vote!” By May last year, it was clear the first two moves were dead in the water. ZEC announced that only 1/4 of million had registered to vote as of 30 May 2022. This was 4% of CCC’s own 6 million target.
There is evidence CCC does not have the funds to train and deploy election agents at all the over 12 000 polling stations on 23 August. In the 2018 elections the party failed to field agents at 544 polling stations according to Chamisa (Mwonzora said “about 2 000); the number is set to be even higher this year.
So the party has been wittering about “protecting the vote” and now it turns out it cannot even do the bear minimum! Zanu PF has many, many ways to rig these elections but will no doubt use these unmanned polling station to fine tune the winning margin of the party candidates. This is a bonus!
“Diaspora come back home and vote for change!” There is a sense of panic in that and rightly so too. The euphoria of “CCC winning big” is dissipating as it is becoming increasing clear now of the wire strategies have worked. By noon on the 24 August the delusionary mist will have completely disappeared and the reality of having given Zanu PF legitimacy and thus extending the dictatorship and failed state for yet another five more years will set in.
The truth is as long as Zanu PF continues to enjoy the carte blanche powers to rig elections, the regime will still continue to win even if all Zimbabweans in the diaspora returned home. Many Zimbabweans who have never left the country will be denied the vote on 23 August because their name is not the polling station the expected or worse. Zanu PF will, no doubt, find many ingenious ways of denying those in the diaspora the vote too.
Indeed, Zanu PF decided it will not grant Zimbabweans in the diaspora the right to vote in foreign lands contrary to Present Mnangagwa’s 2018 promise to do so. The party knows most of the people in the diaspora are political and/or economic refugees and they blame Zanu PF for their plight. They would not be voting for Zanu PF. Intimidating these people will not be easy and rigging the vote will be tough. And so it was no surprise the party has stubbornly refused to allow diaspora vote.
The number one priority is to restore the freedoms and rights, including the right to free and fair elections, of all citizen, inside and outside the country. If the elections were free, fair and credible the citizens inside the country alone would delivery democratic change then it makes sense to focus on ending the curse of rigged elections.
Of course, this notion of winning in rigged elections is an oxymoron. Why give up the right to free elections for such a foolish notion. It is trading gold for fool’s gold.
Zanu PF is set to rig and win these 2023 elections and those who have advocated participating in these flawed elections are already fishing for scapegoats to blame. And “People in the diaspora MUST come back home and vote for change!” is the opening shot across the bows!
The blame for dragging the nation into these futile elections lies with those who failed to implement the reforms to end the rigging and have participated in these flawed elections out of greed; not those in the diaspora or anyone else!
13 comments:
If the elections were free and fair I am convinced that Mnangagwa would lose these elections to a donkey if that was the only alternative even if not even one Zimbabwean in the diaspora returned home. The question then is: why are we having these flawed elections, so flawed there is not even something as basic as a verified voters' roll, hundreds of thousands of voters will be frogmarched to vote for Zanu PF, etc., etc.?
Answer: because we have failed to implement the democratic reforms even when we had the golden opportunity to do so during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends sold out. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office and the rest is history.
Stop blaming those in the diaspora for the certain defeat and blame CCC for dragging the nation into these flawed elections out of greed.
This is just a vicious cycle. We have known for decades that we cannot hold Zanu PF to democratic account because they rig elections. MDC were elected specifically to implement the democratic reforms and thus stop Zanu PF rigging elections. MDC/CCC have failed to implement even one token reform in 23 years, 5 of which in the GNU. Worse still they are the ones who have been participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed.
So what is Mapfume crying about Zanu PF stopping him doing his job when CCC are the ones keeping Zanu PF in power. These are just crocodile tears!
"Defending A Vote" Is A Threat To Peace. Zanu doesn't tolerate opposition defending its vote - Mangwana
This s just CCC blundering! The party is failing to provide elections agents at all the polling station, the most basic of all protecting the vote tasks, and will have street protests instead. This is just bolting the door when the horse has already bolted!
It is tempting for SADC to accept rigged elections when we ourselves have accepted such elections because Chamisa assured us he has winning in rigged elections strategies. We in Zimbabwe are our own worst enemy, we are participating in these flawed elections regardless of all the glaring flaws and illegalities. We can complain all we want about rigged elections after 24 August but no one will listen.
Chamisa et al dragged nation into these flawed elections claiming they have "plugged all Zanu PF rigging loopholes!" It is now clear they were lying are they are fishing for scapegoats to blame.
Diaspora, watch out!
https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-opinion-sc-columnist-byo-234488.html
@ Evangelist
You should be tired of rigged elections and village idiots who tell people they have winning in rigged elections strategies to hide their greed. How you can be tired of being warned you are being taken for a ride but not of the tragic hardships of the failed state state goes to show you are just one of those idiots who have no clue what is in their own interest!
@ Gogo
“Stop short sleeves stop burning people's huts stop intimidating people we want a free and fair election for the first time in history.”
If you are serious about wanting free and fair elections then why are you participating in flawed elections, so flawed there is no verified voters’ roll, rural voters are being frogmarched to vote for Zanu PF, etc., etc.? You are participating because you are foolish enough to believe Chamisa’s lies that he has winning in rigged elections strategies. Next week you should not complain that the strategies did not work because you were warned these are just hot air and you refused to listen.
@ Arthur Mntungwa
“Hayi Bo, wena Mr GNU. I stand for honesty and objectivity. Therefore, even if I'm not their supporter, I cannot stand by and "watch" you mislead the public or the Nation about the CCC. They are just one of the many opposition parties in Zim. They are not even the "official opposition. It's the MDC-T that is the official opposition. They gave not held a gun to anybody’s head to drag them into these elections.
Once you are over 18, you are mature enough to decide. Blame the foolishness of Zimbabweans. Particularly the majority Shona voters who could have long changed the misery that is Zimbabwe, if they had only used their majority numbers wisely, instead of bragging about them in marginalising and oppressing minorities.
DANKIE!!”
First of all lets clear the mud in your head. Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti, David Coltart, Welshman Ncube and many others in the CCC leaders were in the all important 2008 to 2013 GNU, they were in the MDC A and then left to rebrand as CCC. And so it is nonsensical for anyone of them to pretend they were not involved in the countless blunders by the MDC/CCC notably the failure to implement any reforms and the foolish decision to participate in flawed elections only to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed and incompetency.
I have said many times that Zimbabweans ourselves we are to blame for having corrupt, vote rigging and murderous buffoons, on both sides of the political divide, in power and keeping them there for all these decades. Just because the ordinary people are naive and gullible is no excuse for both Zanu PF or CCC to take advantage of them.
The people of Zimbabwe have risked everything to elect MDC/CCC leaders into power on the understanding the party will implement the democratic reforms the nation was dying for. They have not only failed to implement even one token reform in 23 years they are the ones now keeping Zanu PF in power by participating in these flawed elections out of greed.
Chamisa and company promised the nation, CCC have winning in rigged elections strategies. And now when it is clear they lied, they want to blame the people in the diaspora, the rural folk, everyone else except themselves. They are to blame for selling out and, this time, they will be held to account! Watch this space!
I will dismiss your usually tribal diatribe with the contempt they rightly deserve!
It is really sad that millions of our people are still living in a hovel like this in this day and age especially for a country that had the opportunity to be the South Korea of Africa in 1980. Mnangagwa squandered US$4 billion in buying votes in the last month alone whilst millions are condemned to live in abject poverty.
It is heartbreaking that instead of putting an end to this insanity people are participating in these elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy and thus give the failed state another five more years!
@ Mbofana
“The discussion (or, more appropriately, debate) appeared to proceed relatively well, until the two state media representatives - from ZimPapers and ZBC - were asked to respond to CCC accusations that their coverage was biased and skewed against the opposition party.
In his response, the ZimPapers Group Political Editor, Ranga Mataire, pulled a shocker!
He claimed that their media policy was guided by 'national interests', thus, explaining their apparent negative treatment of the CCC.
In this regards, it was clear that these government-owned media houses perceived the main opposition as 'enemies of the state', who did not deserve to be awarded fair, balanced and impartial coverage.
In other words, as far as the ZimPapers was concerned - sentiments I am quite sure are fully shared by their ZBC counterparts - all journalism ethical standards, for which we hold dear, were to be thrown out of the window, on account of narrow political party interests, dictated to by the ruling ZANU PF regime.”
In Zimbabwe Zanu PF owns and/or controls everything and only the foolhardy would dare cross swords with the regime. As for the media even the so-called independent media know the regime can make life very difficult if not impossible if it wanted. There is no press freedom and freedom of expression in Zimbabwe and not until we finally implement the long overdue wide ranging democratic reforms.
In November last year Mnangagwa bribed the MPs and Senator, deputy ministers and ministers with the US$ 40k, 230k and 500k respectively housing loan bribes; it was to buy their silence - vhara muromo. The law makers did not ask where Mnangagwa had got the money from.
Mnangagwa must have squandered over US$ 5 billion on chicken and chip for povo at his rallies to US$ 400k for judges and top brass in the security services. The law makers had their vhara muromo and so they will never ask where the money came from much less question the warped priorities.
Of course, the law-makers, judges, everyone knows these were bribes and Mnangagwa will be repaid with a landslide victory next week.
Now that corruption is the norm and everyone is indebted to the ruling elite: how are we ever going to get change?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F0kCGCtFn4
Mwonzora said it was "foolish" for opposition parties to participate in elections marred by gross anomalies and electoral irregularities.
"Participating in this election is an act of foolish bravery.
"This election is stacked against the opposition; already, laws are being changed as the election process is going on.
"There is selective application of the law; some people are being arrested, some people are not being arrested," he said.
Mwonzora and his party have announced plans to stage a street protest in Harare this Friday over ZEC's decision to exclude the 87 party candidates.
He accused ZEC of manipulating census data "to steal elections”.
MDC leaders failed to implement even one meaningful reform during the GNU, Mwonzora knows this because he was a senior MDC-T leader in the GNU government. MDC leaders were warned by SADC not to participate in the 2013 elections without first implemented the reforms. They ignored the warning. They participated in the 2013 and then 2018 elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy as David Coltart readily admitted in his book.
“The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
Only a village idiot would belief that Mwonzora has only now had his road to Damascus moment that the the elections are “so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw”!He is no different from the many Zanu PF leaders who have admitted of Zanu PF tyranny, corruption and cold blood murders only when they were booted out of the party. Mwonzora is doing the right thing, boycotting the elections, but only because he now realise he will probably won none of the gravy train seats this time!
He is doing the right thing but only for the purpose of deceiving people! He is a snake hoping for a chance to get back into power so he can sell out again.
Of course, it is foolish to participate in elections so flawed there is no verified voters' roll, election officials are bribed, etc., etc. Mwonzora's cursed question which he must answer if he is to be believed is: all these things were there all along why are you only seeing them now?
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