How many more rigged elections and murders will it take to convince Madhuku Zimbabwe is NOT a democracy. By P Guramatunhu

“We cannot say anything other than condemn those who are resorting to violence and we only hope our plea will convert them because it does not help our democracy,” said Professor Madhuku. He was reacting to the story of the beating of his NCA Bikita West by-election candidate and his manager.

Zimbabwe is NOT a democracy!

Professor Madhuku your NCA friends were lucky they were beaten and shot at and lived to tell the story. Hundreds of thousands Zimbabweans were beaten and raped and over 500 were murdered in cold blood in the 2008 elections alone. Zimbabwe is not democracy but an autocratic dictatorship which has mastered the art of rigging elections and has no qualms in using violence to retain power. It is just people like you, Tsvangirai, Joice Mujuru and all the other opposition minions out there are focused on winning the few gravy train seats Zanu PF throws at the opposition you refuse to see the political reality of the dictatorship.

“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 elections,” wrote Senator David Coltart in his book.

“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.”

It was only after the rigged July 2013 elections, when many of the MDC leaders had failed to secure any seats on the gravy train, only then did MDC leaders finally saw the need to implement the reforms and boycott all future elections until the reforms are implemented. “No reform, no elections!” was rammed down the throats of Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti and all the other MDC leaders by the reality of the blatant vote rigging.

It is not that Professor Madhuku and his NCA, Joice Mujiru with her Zim PF and all the new kids on the block do not know what a democracy is and that Zimbabwe is not a democracy; they do. They are all taking part in the election knowing Zanu PF will rig the vote and commit wanton violence just to be absolutely certain there is no regime change. Madhuku and company will contest the elections for the same reason MDC contested the 2013 elections – greed.

Zanu PF will keep throwing the few seats to the opposition to keep them interested, the regime needs these token opposition to give the election process a measure of credibility and the few seats is a small price to pay.

Having a token opposition representation is not something new, Ian Smith had a few black MPs in pre-independent Zimbabwe. There were little more than talking manikins in parliament you would not know it the way these MPs drummed their chest like silverback gorillas. Ian Smith had no problem getting people to fill the talking manikin MP posts! Zanu PF too will never have to worry about the opposition boycotting elections, regardless how flawed and unfair they are, there will always be some opposition candidates fighting over the scraps!

“It is shocking to realise that as all this madness happens, Zec has not said or done anything when the nation is expecting to hear from them if they take their work seriously,” said Madhuku, adding that the electoral body risks losing credibility.

No Professor Madhuku, it is you who lost all credibility; you clearly do not have common sense to know ZEC has been corrupted the commission considers helping Zanu PF rig the elections as their primary task. 

If anyone thought that the beating of NCA officials in Bikita West has opened Professor Madhuku’s eyes they will be disappointed to know that had no effect. As long as there are scraps to be had Madhuku and company will be fighting over them.

“We cannot say anything other than condemn those who are resorting to violence and we only hope our plea will convert them because it does not help our democracy,” Madhuku said.

“We also call upon the electorate to remain steadfast and not to be intimidated into giving up. We must never reward perpetrators of violence by doing that.”

The real question for the country now is how many more innocent Zimbabweans must be beaten, raped and even murdered to finally convince people like Madhuku, Mujuru, etc. that Zimbabwe is not a democracy and elections are flawed?

Coltart hankering for Noble prize for "brave act of defiance" against Mugabe - for selling out.

"What is it about Southern Africa that creates so many moral heavyweights? It seems that adversity and repression in that part of the world stimulate rather than inhibit, and bring out the best in its citizens in response to the worst in its rulers," reported the Financial Times.

"Hence, the region's Nobel Prize winners and feisty clerics, outspoken parliamentarians and courageous activists.

“Whatever the reason for the disproportionate number of these men and women, all prepared to confront power with truth, David Coltart, a 59-year-old Zimbabwe-born civil rights lawyer, deserves to join their ranks.”

The full article, An insider’s account of Mugabe’s regime is also a brave act of defiance, is in Bulawayo 24 opinion column.

Yes, this is true we, in Zimbabwe, have had our lion's share of sung and unsung liberators from tyrants and oppressors but nothing ever changes for the ordinary man and woman because all our liberators, without exception, have all been distracted by the trapping of power and failed to deliver the final blow to end the tyranny or worse, became the tyrant themselves. Senator Coltart is just one such example of hero turned sell-out.

MDC, the party of which Senator Coltart was a senior member, was supposed to implement democratic reforms designed to end vote rigging and deliver free, fair and credible elections, the coup de grace to the Zanu PF dictatorship. They had five years to do this but failed to implement even one reform because they were too busy "enjoying being in government and forgot why they were there," as SADC leaders remarked in sheer exasperation. 

Senator Coltart himself admit in the book of how the MDC leaders failed to do the obvious thing - boycott the elections because of their greedy. 

 “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,” he said.

For all the good work Senator David Coltart has done we cannot deny that he sold-out during the GNU and has never even apologized to the people of Zimbabwe. Since when have sell-outs become worthy precipitants of accolades and Noble Prices. If he gets one then so too should Robert Mugabe and many of his Zanu PF thugs, after all they suffered a great deal at the hands of Ian Smith – they fact that they too sold-out after independence to create a corrupt and murderous regime far worse than the Smith’s regime is irrelevant by these new standards!

Senator Coltart the people of Zimbabwe risked life and limp, God knows how many millions of ordinary Zimbabweans have been beaten and raped since 1999 when MDC was formed and over 500 were murdered in 2008 alone, electing you and your fellow MDC friends because you promised to bring democratic change. You had the golden opportunity to bring about the democratic change and you sold-out, that is not “a brave act of defiance”!

ZPP call on ZEC "execute its responsibilities" after by-election shooting.

The political situation in the Bikita West by-elections is so bad there is no way anyone can consider this a free, fair and credible election. No way!

“The situation in Bikita West is cause for concern as the rights of the electorate are being flagrantly violated,” wrote Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) in their latest report. “The constituency has reported threat to life, physical violence, partisan food distribution, vote buying, deployment of soldiers, unwarranted voter assistance and intimidation by traditional leaders.  There are disturbing reports where the right to personal security of a candidate has been violated.

“The National Constitutional Assembly candidate, Maddock Chivasa, was assaulted and his election agent, Thomas Mudzamiri, sustained gunshot injuries. Perpetrators are alleged to be Zanu PF supporters who were bussed in from Marondera.”

People being threatened, denied food aid and being shot at; we had heard of these things before and yet one cannot help but be shocked to hear each new case. Zimbabwe’s culture of vote rigging and politically motivated violence is a permanent fixture of our body politics and, like a migraine headache, you never ever get used to it.

What makes Zimbabwe’s culture of vote rigging and political violence even more unbearable is that we know the cure but will not take the medicine because those entrusted to do the assessment of the nation’s ills are time and time again coming out with the wrong diagnosis and proscribe the wrong medicine.

“ZPP believes it is the responsibility of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to address deficits in the environment and duly execute its responsibilities and bring to book parties that are perpetrating pre-election violence,” said the report.

Does ZPP really believe that ZEC, as it is presently constituted, can meaningfully “address” all the commission’s electoral deficits and guarantee free, fair and credible elections!

ZPP should know that the real ZEC; like all the other state institutions like the Police, Army, CIO, Judiciary, Public Media, Human Rights Commission, etc., etc.; has been corrupted, politicized and compromised. The commission lost its independence and political impartiality a long time ago, it is now a department of Zanu PF in all but name.

ZEC, as a Zanu PF department in all but name, is there help ensure there is no regime change and since it is impossible to deliver no regime change and free, fair and credible elections at the same time the commission has always placed Zanu PF’s selfish political interest about public interests. Zimbabwe is a multi-party democracy on paper only but a de facto one-party dictatorship in practice.

If ZPP or anyone is serious about ending Zimbabwe’s culture of vote rigging and violence and hold free, fair and credible elections then the country must implement the democratic reforms designed to sever dictatorial controls Zanu PF has created over ZEC and all the other public institutions. SADC spelt out these raft of democratic reforms, sadly the Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara GNU failed to get even one reform implemented in five years.

It is naïve to expect ZEC, Police, etc. as they are presently constituted to act in a none partisan way in carrying out their democratic electoral duties.  To stop Zanu PF rigging the vote and committing the violence we must implementing the democratic reforms and get on with it.

SADC leaders literally begged Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to take part in the 2013 elections without implementing the reforms first because they knew Zanu PF would rig the elections – and Zanu PF rigged the elections. How many more sad stories of people being intimidated, beaten or worse for selfish political gain do we want to hear before we will finally accept we must implement the reforms first before holding any more elections!