Dr Nevers Mumba and his SADC Elections Observer Mission (SEOM) team’s preliminary report condemning Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections as flawed and illegal has caused such a storm Zanu PF and SADC itself are at sixes and sevens as what to do. They have roped in the Panel of Elders led by former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete to help find a way out.
“The government said Dr Mumba failed to declare his interest when he assumed his role as the head of the election observer mission and his personal interests were seen in the preliminary report,” reported Bulawayo 24.
"A Panel of Elders led by Former Tanzanian President HE Jakaya Kikwete is expected to land in Zimbabwe today. They will be here to peruse the controversies that emanated from the SEOM preliminary report. All members of the SEOM will be assisting except Dr Mumba @ZANUPF_Official," said Zanu PF acting director of information and publicity Cde Farai Marapira.
This is a typical Zanu PF knee jerk reaction: if the regime cannot deal with the message, it will go after the messenger with all guns blazing! Ever since releasing the critical election report, Dr Mumba has become fair game as far as this Zanu PF regime is concerned. We need to examine the facts.
SADC leaders wanted Zimbabwe’s 2013 elections postponed to allow for reforms to be implemented. “If you participate in next month’s elections, you will lose. The elections are done!” they warned Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC cronies at the special SADC Summit meeting in June 2013 in Maputo Mozambique.
As we know, MDC leaders ignored the warning and participated in the elections out of greed, as David Coltart later confessed.
“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.
Zanu PF rigged the 2013 elections, just as the SADC leaders had warned. The regional leaders, in sheer exasperation at MDC leaders’ incompetence and betrayal, endorsed the results and granted the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. SADC was to do the same again after MDC participated again in the elections with not even a token reform implemented.
CCC and the rest of Zimbabwe’s opposition were participating in these 2023 elections with not even a token reform implemented. They knew ZEC had failed to produce even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake! Zanu PF was doing what Zanu PF does best - rig the elections - naturally. It was all business as usual.
Zanu PF expected the SADC election observer team to gloss over the glaring election irregularities and illegalities, as usual. Of course, Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies were absolutely shocked when Dr Mumba and his team highlighted the election flaws and illegalities, instead.
Dr Mumba, the little boy in Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Emperor's New Clothes”, exposed the Emperor’s nakedness and, freed from all their inhabitations, everyone is laughing.
Of all people the Panel of Elders know that Zimbabwe is a failed state precisely because the country has never ever held free, fair and credible elections it its 43 years since independence in 1980. They know that SADC has not done the country any favours by turning a blind eye to Zanu PF’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. They know they will lose all political credibility if they fail to back Dr Mumba’s report and deny Zimbabwe the chance to end the nightmare of rigged elections and bad governance.
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The party wants Cyril Ramaphosa's government to begin reviewing economic relationships with Zimbabwe. In the same way that ECOWAS has taken a strong position on coups in the West African region, it is time for SADC nations to take strong positions on irregular and unfair elections. BOSA calls for an Extraordinary summit of SADC nations to discuss the electoral crisis in Zimbabwe and how to resolve the impasse.
"BOSA calls for all South Africans to reject the election outcomes in Zimbabwe. There is currently no legitimately elected government in Zimbabwe and South Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should uphold principles of democracy and the interests of the region and all of its peoples," said the party in a statement.
I wonder whether BOSA and all the other opposition parties and ordinary South Africans are aware that ANC government has taken a radicle stand regarding Zimbabwean elections out of selfish greed. ANC is fearful of regime change in Zimbabwe will encourage South Africans to seek the same next years and hence the reason why the party has publicly said it would not support regime change in Zimbabwe.
ANC leaders are putting their selfish interests of winning next year’s elections above those of the country and the region. It is not in SA or SADC’s interest to keep Zanu PF in power against the democratic wishes of the people of Zimbabwe.
Dr Mumba and his SADC Election Observer Mission did Zimbabwe a historic favour in condemning the 2023 elections. SADC Panel of Elders headed by former Tanzania president Jakaya Kikwete will review Dr Mumba's report. Let us hope they will not betray the long suffering Zimbabweans but falsely endorsing 2023 and granting Zanu PF legitimacy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOc9bIzzivg
@ George
“Chamisa has done his best !" you say. I am sure you can name many cases in which he did well. But does that mean he has never done anything wrong? If he has then surely we should hold him to account for that too and and just sing his praises for the right things.
Even you cannot deny that Mugabe and his Zanu PF friends accomplished a lot in the fight for independence. They risked life and limb and thousands made the ultimate sacrifice. We rightly praise them for the heroic sacrifice but that does not stop us holding the regime to account for the economic ruins, the Gukurahundi massacre, etc.
MDC/CCC leaders were elected to implement the democratic changes design to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. After 23 years, 5 of which in the GNU, they have not only failed to implement even one token reform but worse still they are now participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship. Of course, they will and must be held to democratic account for this, regardless of your list of Chamisa good deeds!
Indeed, you and your fellow CCC apologists are foolish in your belief that leaders must not be held to account. You are not different from Zanu PF’s Mutsvangwa, Mangwana, Charamba and all the other party apologists. I for one refuse to be silence by village idiots like you!
Yes, you George are just a village idiot no different from Zanu PF’s George Charamba. Same s****t different party!
@ Don’t forget to pray
“True bro Chamisa has tried his level best💯💯💯. Then we have this whack ass bitch Mukori who is acting like a cockroach in the house, he doesn't see or understand the hard work the CCC is doing..All he knows is flawed election with his old eyes singing the same song day in day out... Mukori you need to man up.. You need to order panoviyiwa nyama nevamwe varume.”
No wonder Zimbabwe is failed state, we have too many village idiots and they have no clue what the wittering about!
MDC/CCC number one task was to bring about democratic changes, as the party’s original name implied. Name one democratic change Chamisa and company have brought in 23 years, 5 of which in the GNU?
You cannot name one change and yet keep wittering about “Chamisa has tried his level best!”
@ Mkhokheli
“Chamisa says he wants a fresh election. What's your comment? Inclusive of Parliamentary elections.”
Chamisa is corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent and has proven this beyond all reasonable doubt. And has show this again and again and is doing so now.
What is the point of holding fresh elections when you have done nothing to ensure the elections will be free, fair and credible?
Coming from Chamisa it is no surprise he is calling for fresh elections with nothing done to ensure the elections are free, after all that was one of the reasons why MDC failed to implement even one reform during the GNU - they are breathtakingly incompetent!
What Zimbabwe needs right now is to implement the democratic reforms and finally cure ourselves of this curse of rigged elections and bad governance!
If the Panel of elders led by former president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, in Zimbabwe for the express purpose of reviewing the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) led by Dr Nevers Mumba which damned the 23 August 2023 Zimbabwe elections as flawed and illegal. If the confirm the report then SADC will NOT grant Zanu PF political legitimacy.
In 2008 SADC refused to endorse Zanu PF’s elections process and to grant Zanu PF legitimacy. Mugabe was forced to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement agreeing to the need to implement democratic reforms and the setting up of the GNU to implement the reforms. History will be repeating itself.
If the elections process is condemned then there can be no legitimate regime. There was no need for a court challenge in 2008 and there will be no need for one this time either. Professor Stephen Chan is wrong is saying otherwise.
If the Panel of Elders decide Dr Mumba and his team were to harsh and water down the criticism making them recommendations to improve future elections. Then SADC will grant Zanu PF political legitimacy. Whether or not CCC mount a court challenge of any of the result it will have no bearing of SADC’s decision.
Whatever happens, Dr Mumba and his SEOM friends must be remember as Zimbabwe’s true heroes because their report gave the nation the best chance to end the Zanu PF tyrannical rule since the 2008 GNU.
If the Panel of Elders fail to endorse Dr Mumba’s report it will be yet another case in which the long suffering Zimbabweans were sold out, a very familiar tale for this nation!
@ Zayne
“You were advocating for a boycott of election and CCC participated and their participation helped to expose the Zanu PF and ZEC rot. How can you expose someone without participation or be in his or her company? Well done CCC for participating, otherwise if you have listened to armchair critics SADC wasn't going to notice this electoral fraud of the century.”
The original goal was to implement the reforms to stop the rigging of elections. After 23 years, 5 of which in the GNU, MDC/CCC has failed to implement even one token reform! Have you ever asked them why they have failed to implement even one reform?
So exposing ZEC and Zanu PF vote rigging shenanigans is now the new goal? Expose the rigging for what end and purpose? It all started in 2013 and do I dare ask how long is this supposed to go on?
If Kikwete and his Panel of Elders water down Dr Mumba's damning report to grant Zanu PF political legitimacy then Zimbabwe is doomed! Another five more years of this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF failed state is unthinkable.
https://www.zimeye.net/2023/08/30/kikwete-and-panel-of-elders-to-peruse-mumbas-damning-report-gene-is-out-dont-even-dare-try-putting-it-back/
“Can we go back to 2013 when we are in 2023?”
Just because you do not have the intellect to remember what happened a year ago let alone ten years ago but that does not mean everyone else has the same problem. We have held rigged elections for 43 yers and we cannot keep repeating the same mistakes just because some of us are incapable of see the repetition!
THE Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat in Botswana has dispatched its Panel of Elders (PoE) on a fact-finding mission into disputed 2023 harmonised elections results in Zimbabwe.
This follows a damning preliminary report of the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) chaired by former Zambian vice president, Nevers Mumba in the aftermath of chaotic August 23-24 plebiscites.
The SEOM report is factual and was confirmed by other Observers. SADC leaders themselves wanted the 2013 Zimbabwe elections to be postpone because they knew without reforms the elections would never be free, fair and credible. The endorse Zanu PF victory then because they felt betrayed by MDC who disregarded their advice.
The truth is SADC could not continue endorsing rigged elections and allow Zimbabwe to sink deeper and deeper into chaos and despair.
This attempt to undermine SEOM's report must be denounced as treasonous.
Those who close the door to peaceful and orderly democratic change will delay change for a while but must know that sooner or later change will come and when it does it will violence and uncontrollable. For change is unstoppable accept that reality and you accept the reality that what we can control is how the change will happen.
Those who resist orderly change have, per se, accepted violent change!
Gabon has resisted democratic change by rigging elections to perpetuate dictatorial rule. Why the dictator is shocked there is a coup is laughable.
Zimbabwe has had a coup already to remove Mugabe and now we need another to remove Mnangagwa! The 2017 coup was not bloody, who knows what the next one will bring!
According to the CCC, these new polls should be under the supervision of a ‘neutral’ body – such as SADC, the AU or UN.
As much as that sounds all well and good – but there is a problem with that thinking.
Let us remember that the main dispute with the recent elections – as has been the case with all the previous ones, spanning two decades – is not necessarily the vote counting and tabulation alone.
The entire electoral process is a huge sham and scandal – a point made unambiguously and unequivocally clear in the various preliminary reports by SADC, AU-COMESA, the Commonwealth, and EU.
It is the process itself that is a problem.”
I totally agree with you, these elections are flawed and illegal because the whole process is flawed and illegal ant not just the vote counting. The very fact that CCC are only focusing on V11 forms goes to show how little they understand what is going on here. But then, it explains why MDC/CCC leaders have failed to implement even one token reform these last 23 years and never will - how can they implement something they do even know.
Jonathan Moyo, former Information Minister of Zimbabwe, has argued that Nelson Chamisa’s rejection of the election results undermines democratic institutions, national laws, the judiciary, and even Zimbabwe’s sovereignty.
Moyo argues that the electoral process was conducted in a transparent, professional, and peaceful manner. He added that by advocating for international intervention in organizing a fresh election, Chamisa prioritises his personal interests over the will and welfare of the Zimbabwean people
Professor Jonathan Moyo knows these elections were flawed and illegal and SADC Election Observer Mission led by Dr Mumba was right in condemning the process. CCC participated in these flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy for the same reason they participated in flawed elections in the past - greed.
How can CCC undermine Zimbabwe's democratic institutions when these institutions are Zanu Pf in all but name. It is Zanu PF that has undermining Zimbabwe's democratic institutions to create a de facto one party dictatorship. By failing to implement the democratic reforms MDC/CCC leaders have betrayed the people in helping to perpetuate the dictatorship.
If SADC Panel of Elders endorse SADC Election Observer Mission report that condemned 2023 elections Zimbabwe will have a real chance of a new GNU, implement the reforms and finally end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
If SADC Panel of Elders sell out and water down the report to give Zanu PF legitimacy, then the failed state will continue for another five years complete with all the chaos and suffering that entails!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rapyQw91smA
@ Tsvangirai
He had five years in the GNU and yet failed to implement even one token reform. Mugabe bribed him and his MDC friends with the trappings of high office and they kicked reforms out of the window! He was not that stupid to deny reforms are important, it is just that greed got the better of him and his MDC friends!
MDC/CCC have sold out on reforms and are participating to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed the ordinary people need to know this and CCC leaders must be held to account for it. They are accountable to everyone and not only those who voted for them and/or those who have their own political party. Everyone! And that is not negotiable.
A powerful message for all African leaders but especially ANC and the SADC Panel of Elders who are in Zimbabwe right now for the purpose of watering down SADC Election Observer Mission's report that condemned the 2023 elections as flawed and illegal.
Mnangagwa wants the Elders to turn the criticisms into recommendations and the regime granted political legitimacy. Zimbabweans' hope of ending the dictatorship is in the hands of these Elders!
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