By Wilbert Mukori| Ten years ago, SADC leaders condemned the 2008 Zimbabwe elections because Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs had blatantly cheated in the March vote count and used wanton violence in the run-off. Mugabe was told in no uncertain terms that SADC will not recognise his government as a product of the democratic wishes of the people of Zimbabwe and thus legitimate.
In other words Zimbabwe’s 2008 elections were so flawed and illegal the process failed to produce a legitimate government.
As a way forward, SADC leaders proposed the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in which the core requirement of a government elected by people was to be suspended. Zimbabwe would be ruled by a Government of National Unity (GNU) whose principle task was to implement a raft of democratic reforms and write a new democratic constitution so ensure the debacle of the 2008 elections will never ever be repeated.
Sadly not even one reform was ever implemented in the five years of the GNU. Not one.
Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends, who were entrusted to implement the reforms, with the trappings of high office and, with their snouts in the feeding trough, they forgot about the reforms.
“MDC leaders were busy enjoying themselves during the GNU, they forgot what they were there for!” complained one SADC diplomat after Zanu PF, once again, blatantly rigged the 2013 elections.
Mnangagwa promised to hold free, fair and credible elections after the 2017 military coup. Sadly, he was conning the naive and gullible because he did not implement even one reform. Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s elections as the facts on the ground proved.
He denied 3 million Zimbabwean in the diaspora the vote; a very significant number since he was declared the winner with 2.4 million votes. The regime failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll, for Pete’s sake!
It therefore beggared belief why SADC leaders endorse Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF as the legitimate government regardless of all the flaws and illegalities in last year’s election process. But worse still, having endorsed this Zanu PF regime as legitimate SADC cannot force Mnangagwa to agree to anything near the 2008 GPA.
Unlike in 2008, SADC leaders have no political leverage to force Zanu PF to agree to the need for democratic reforms much less force the party to get the reforms implemented. SADC leaders shot themselves in the foot by endorse last year’s elections as legitimate.
Those asking SA’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and SADC to play a role in ending the Zimbabwe crisis have no clue what they are talking about; they are just dogs howling at the full moon! By endorsing Zimbabwe’s rigged elections President Ramaphosa shot himself in the head; not in the foot, head!
Like it or not, if President Ramaphosa is play any meaningful role in Zimbabwe’s crisis; he must tell Mnangagwa that he rigged last year’s elections and is illegitimate, a spectacular volte face in itself. It is almost certain that Mnangagwa will pretend there is a teaspoon full of wax in his ears and thus refuse to hear.
What Zimbabwe needs to move forward, is to implement the democratic reforms; nothing, absolutely nothing of substance will ever be accomplished until we cure ourselves of this curse of rigged elections, the mother of bad governance.
SOURCE: zsdemocrats.blogspot.com