By Patrick Guramatunhu- President Emmerson Mnangagwa warned the 50 diplomatic headers accredited to Zimbabwe not to meddle in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs.
“As we begin yet another year in our relations, I challenge you, the diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe, to look through the lenses of possibilities and focus on those matters which unite us, as opposed to our areas of differences.
It is most unfortunate, however, that as Zimbabwe prepares for the 2023 harmonised elections, some forces are already seeking to influence the national discourse and destabilise the peace and stability we are enjoying as a country,” said Mnangagwa.
“Sadly, this is not new to us and is part of the decades-old regime change agenda. Those of you who may be inclined to perpetuating this blatant interference in the internal affairs of our country are urged to introspect and stop this unbecoming practice.
Let the people of Zimbabwe enjoy their unfettered right to choose their leadership. It is our democratic rights, a right which we fought for, and a right which we will protect, respect and uphold to the letter.”
The Zanu-PF government has on several occasions accused Western powers, particularly the United States and Britain of funding opposition parties to pursue a regime change agenda.
The really infuriating thing is that Zanu PF has ruthlessly denied the ordinary Zimbabweans their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country.
The people’s cry for free, fair and credible elections have been ignore under the pretext that no ordinary Zimbabwean want that only foreigners and their local puppets seeking regime changed wanted free elections.
For the first time ever in the country’s history both SADC and AU refused to rubber stamp the 2008 Zimbabwe elections as a free and fair process and thus forcing Zanu PF to accept the need to implement a raft of democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
Sadly, the task of implementing the reforms were given to the late Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends. They sold out and failed to implement even one reform in five years.
SADC proposed that the 2013 elections should be postponed to allow the reforms to be implemented. SADC leaders told Tsvangirai and company to their faces; “If you participate in next month’s elections, you will lose.
The elections are done!” MDC leaders ignored the advice. And SADC leaders have since given up on getting Zimbabwe back on a democratic path.
Zimbabwe’s worsening economic and political situation has made the country unstable and now threatens to drag the rest of the region into the abyss. SADC leaders have no choice but to sit up and try find a solution to Zimbabwe’s economic and political mess.
Zanu PF has rigged Zimbabwe elections starting with the 1980 when the party made it clear the bush war would continue if the party lost the plebiscite.
Except for the 2008 elections SADC and AU have turned a blind eye to the rigging and rubber stamped the results giving Zanu PF legitimacy. This constitutes interference in the internal affairs of the country is the most negative way possible by helping to perpetuate the culture of rigged elections and bad governance.
Zanu PF is rigging the 2023 elections – the regime is refusing to produce a verified voters’ roll, it has denied 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the vote, the wanton violence of 2008 is back, etc., etc.
The long suffering people of Zimbabwe are asking SADC leaders to call out the real 2023 election results based on the observed evidence, for a change – that is not too much to ask.