By Patrick Guramatunhu: ”THE MDC has identified 20 election principles which it wants to be incorporated into the electoral reform agenda and the proposed Electoral Bill ahead of the 2023 elections,” reported Daily News.

“The new Act should criminalise coercion and undue influence on the freedoms and electoral persuasions of the electorate by influential persons and institutions,” reads the MDC document..

“In developing these principles on elections, a review of best practices by other countries is taken into account, as well as recommendations from organisations focusing on elections and Election Observer Missions accredited to Zimbabwe during the 2018 elections, the Sadc Model Law on Elections, AU and UN protocols guiding democratic elections were also considered.” 

This is just another one of MDC’s time wasting antics which will do nothing to stop Zanu PF rigging the next elections and we will back where we are today, stuck with the vote rigging Zanu PF regime. How can I be so certain this, one might well ask? 

Ask yourself the following three questions:

1. If MDC know these 20 reforms were necessary for free, fair and credible elections then why did the party fail to get even one reform implemented these last 20 years, especially during the 2008 GNU when the party had the backing of SADC?

1. Why has MDC participated in elections in 2013 and then 2018 knowing fully well that without the reforms in place Zanu PF would rig the elections? David Coltart has confessed why MDC leaders has participated in flawed and illegal elections – greed. There is nothing to suggest MDC leaders will not participate in the next election even if none of their proposed reforms see the light of day; they are as greedy now as ever. 

1. MDC are counting on the present parliament in which Zanu PF has 2/3 majority to implement the reforms designed to end the party’s carte blanche dictatorial powers to rig elections and stay in power. Why would Zanu PF ever agree to reform itself out of office?

All the election observers of the July 2018 elections, with democratic any credentials worth a spit, dismissed the Zimbabwe elections as a farce.

“The electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner.

The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability,” stated the EU Election Mission final report. 

“As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll; for Pete’s sake!

Note, the EU report was talking about the parliamentary race as well as the presidential race, these were harmonised elections.

They condemned both races because the process that “failed to meet international standards” was one and the same process. Nelson Chamisa and his MDC friends have rejected the presidential result but accept the parliamentary result; this is cherry picking. 

The only sure way to get the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections finally implemented is by appointing an independent body to do it.

Both President Mnangagwa and his equally illegitimate Zanu PF parliament must step down to create the political space for the independent body. 

To get both Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF parliament to step down demanded a consensus condemnation of the July 2018 elections. By cherry picking, MDC undermined the call for the Zanu PF government to step down. 

Worse still, the MDC half-way house position of the Zanu PF presidency and cabinet being declared illegitimate and therefore subjected to so power sharing arrangement between Zanu PF and MDC will not deliver the reforms.

A Zanu PF 2/3 parliamentary majority will never ever approve meaningful democratic reforms, as stated above.

Zimbabwe has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections these last 40 years and counting not because Zanu PF and MDC leaders did not know the 20 reforms MDC has now produced.

Even if they did not, the 2008 Global Political Agreement spelt out the raft of reforms the two parties were tasked to implemented during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. They failed to get even one reform implemented because they lacked the political will to implement the reforms. Period!

For the last 40 years, the people of Zimbabwe have been denied their basic freedoms and rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections and even the right to life itself.

They have been stuck with corrupt and tyrannical regime all these years and have paid dearly for it. Whatever these people had done wrong to deserve this tyrannical government, they have paid for it thousand fold. 

All the people of Zimbabwe are asking of you, me and all those in a position to help is to ensure an independent body, with the political will, is appointed to implement the reforms to guarantee next elections are free, fair and credible.

And not another gimmicky GNU fronted by the same corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF and MDC leaders. That is not too much to ask!