By Patrick Guramatunhu- “The (November 2017) coup has been over taken by events and there has been an election in between, the disputed results notwithstanding.
It is what it is and now we must focus on getting Zimbabweans to have a good and sober look around and re-examine their potential choices for 2023,” said Albert Gumbo. He is the secretary general of Alliance for People’s Agenda (APA) led Dr Nkosana Moyo.
“The elected must govern and if they can’t, they must be voted out at the next election!”
Dr Moyo was one of the 23 presidential candidates in Zimbabwe’s 31st July 2018 harmonised elections. The parliamentary and local elections were an equally hotly contested affairs. Zanu PF went on to win the presidential race and 2/3 majority in parliament, the result was never in doubt as it was clear the party was going to rig the elections and did.
Of course, it is most infuriating that Zimbabwe’s corrupt, incompetent and sell-out opposition politicians continue to refuse to acknowledge a simple historic fact that Zanu PF rigs elections and it is therefore nonsensical to keep talking of the people voting the regime out of office. After 40 years of rigged elections under our belt they still pretend they have no clue what constitutes free, fair and credible elections!
Of course, Zanu PF blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections. The regime deny 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora a chance to register and vote, a very significant number since Mnangagwa claimed victory with 2.4 million votes. There was no free and independent media. But most notable of all, the regime failed to produce a verified voters’ roll, a legal and common sense requirement!
The opposition candidates not only knew that Zanu PF was blatantly rigging the elections but, worst of all, they also knew that by participating in the elections regardless, they would give the process “credibility”.
“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 (2013) elections,” wrote MDC Alliance 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.”
So the opposition gave Zimbabwe’s flawed and illegal election process credibility and, by extension, the results the modicum of legitimacy! Zanu PF offered the opposition politicians the few gravy train seats as their reward for participating and giving the regime legitimacy.
Since the rigged 2018 elections Zanu PF has not implemented any democratic reforms and, as we can see, the opposition are gearing to participate in the next elections. And with no reforms in place Zanu PF is certain to rig the elections and we will be back in the situation we are in today and have been for the last 40 years – stuck with the corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship.
The settled Zimbabwe election cycle is Zanu PF rigging elections, the opposition paying lip service to demanding reform, no reforms are implemented, the opposition participate giving legitimacy to yet another Zanu PF rigged elections and so back to a new cycle. If we are to break this vicious cycle we must fight on two fronts:
- we must stand firm in rejecting Zanu PF’s legitimacy, the party rigged the 2018 elections, it has no mandate to govern and must step down to allow the appointment of a competent body to implement the reforms and hold free and fair elections. By refusing to step down, Zanu PF is holding the nation to ransom and has done this for donkey years now. That is totally unacceptable.
- we must expose the corrupt and incompetent opposition politicians for the sell-out they are. The people of Zimbabwe must now wake-up to the political reality that opposition leaders are now running with the povo hare and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds.
We can be 100% certain that if Zanu PF is in power until 2023, the party will rig the elections. We can also be 100% certain that Zimbabwe’s opposition parties, all 130 of them at the last count, will participate in the flawed and illegal elections. It is incumbent on us to make sure the next elections are free, fair and credible.
“If Zanu PF have failed to govern, vote them out in 2023!” The people have failed to do so these last 40 years precisely because Zanu PF rigs elections. The only reason why the opposition politicians refuse to acknowledging that Zanu PF rigs elections is they are now working in cahoots with the regime!