By Patrick Guramatunhu- When I heard Nelson Chamisa tell the 40 000 of his supporters in Gweru on Sunday that he will stop Zanu PF rigging the elections, I felt sick! I have heard the same promised before and knew then as I know now that it is all lies!
“This time I assure you, there will be no rigging, I now have eyes in ZEC, I am being briefed about their every move and even if they want to rig, we will know in advance and act to avert it,” said Nelson Chamisa in Gweru.
Zimbabwe’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections is at the very heart of Zimbabwe’s economic and political mess because the nation has been stuck with the vote rigging, corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF regime for 42 years and counting. And as long as Zanu PF retains its carte blanche power to rig elections, as graphically exercised in the watershed 2008 elections, there will be no meaningful political change in Zimbabwe.
SADC leaders refused to recognise Zanu PF’s election victory after the blatant cheating and wanton violence in the 2008 elections. The regional leaders forced Robert Mugabe to accept the need for implementing a raft of democratic reforms designed to end Zanu PF’s dictatorial powers, a prerequisite for free, fair and credible elections.
The task of implementing the reforms were entrusted to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends, including Nelson Chamisa and most of his CCC leaders. Sadly, MDC leaders not only failed to implement even one token democratic reform during the five years of the GNU but worse still have insisted on participating in the flawed elections giving Zanu PF legitimacy.
In 2018 Nelson Chamisa insisted in participating in the elections against all advice not to until the democratic reforms are implemented. “MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” he claimed. Everyone knew he was lying and, as expected, Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2018 elections.
What is so, so frustrating is that not only is Zimbabwe still stuck with the corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship but to add insult to injury, it is MDC/CCC leaders who not only sold out on reforms but are now giving Zanu PF legitimacy by insisting on participating in flawed elections. The people of Zimbabwe have risked life and limb to elect MDC/CCC into power to implement reforms and end the Zanu PF dictatorship not to foil reforms and perpetuate the dictatorship!
The very idea of “winning rigged elections”, especially Zanu PF rigged elections given the party’s carte blanche powers, is an oxymoron. After 42 years of rigged elections, the nation should just bite the bullet and implement the democratic reforms.
Just because MDC/CCC have turned out corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent and hence failed to get even one reform implemented does not meaning no one else can do it! Until we implement the reforms to ensure free and fair elections; Zimbabwe is not going to get out of the political and economic mess Zanu PF landed us in.