By Patrick Guramatunhu | “Look, you can’t keep on participating in flawed electoral processes that serve to give big benefits to dictators such as Robert Mugabe. Mugabe has perfected the art of winning elections. So it will be very foolish for the opposition to continue legitimizing these sham elections which don’t deliver. This country will go through a serious economic crisis in 2020 caused by Zanu PF. And yet, this is the only country where a government doesn’t perform, it is encouraged by a super majority in parliament,” said Tendai Biti in a 2015 interview with Isaac Mugabi.
“So you can’t continue subjecting Zimbabweans to processes where their hopes just get crushed.”
There are four key points in Biti’s admission:
1) The elections are not just flawed and illegal they are so flawed the opposition cannot win.
2) Zanu PF is guaranteed of a super majority which the regime then uses to do as it pleases.
3) By participating in the flawed elections, the opposition is giving Zanu PF legitimacy.
4) Tendai Biti is well aware of the consequences of the participating in these flawed elections is crushing the hopes for meaningful political and economic change in the country. The consequences of giving Zanu PF legitimacy is perpetuating the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship.
The reader will be interested to know that Tendai Biti’s condemnation of the opposition’s position of participating in the flawed 2013 elections was not a lightning bolt out of the clear blue sky.
MDC-T 2014 party congress had come out with a resolution they party would not participate in any future elections and by elections until democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections were implemented.
“No reforms! No elections!” was the new MDC-T party slogan.
By the end of 2015 MDC-T had ditched the resolution to stop participating in elections until democratic reforms were implemented. The party was openly admitting it would participate in the upcoming 2018 elections.
Tendai Biti, who had broken away to form his own party, reconciled to his former MDC-T friends to form the MDC Alliance which went on to participate in the 2018 elections – forgetting Biti’s June 2015 denouncing participation as foolish and MDC-T party resolution.
There was no follow-up interview with Biti, asking him why he and his MDC friends have continued participating in flawed elections post 2015, knowing fully well doing so only gave vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy, perpetuated the dictatorship and thus the suffering of the people! Of course, Biti and his opposition colleagues were asked the question but have been very careful to avoid answering it or else offered so feeble excuse for participating.
The only MDC leader who has given an explanation why MDC has consistently participate in flawed elections was David Coltart.
“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,” confessed Coltart in his Book, , The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe..
“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.”
MDC leaders realised the sheer stupidity of participating in the flawed elections but reason was trumped by greed. They each had their eyes set on winning the few gravy train seats they knew Zanu PF was giving away to entice the opposition to participate.
Indeed, SADC leaders had advised the two MDC factions not to participate in the 2013 elections without first implementing the reforms. The good advice fell on deaf ear because of greed.
As noted above, four of the main MDC factions came together to form the MDC Alliance (MDC A) before the 2018 elections, the united party did not stop them participating in that year’s elections.
CCC is basically MDC A rebranded, it still constitutes the main opposition winning 43% of the vote according to ZEC 2018 result and the remaining 40 plus opposition parties winning 4% of the vote. So, for CCC boycotting the 2023 elections would make a lot of sense, to follow Coltart’s argument: more so now given the 42 years of rigged elections. And yet Chamisa and co are hell bent on participating in these flawed elections for the same reasons as before – greed and breath-taking incompetence!
The Tendai Biti interview is available on DW, together with David Coltart’s Book; they provide the documentary proof Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders have KNOWN all along that Zanu PF is rigging these flawed elections and that their participation was giving the regime legitimacy and thus perpetuating the dictatorship. They have continued participated regardless out of greed, Zanu PF has given away a few gravy train seats, their reward for selling out on reforms and free elections! – SOURCE: zimbabwelight.blogspot.com