'Will ensure credible, free and fair elections,' Mnangagwa promise - no letting him off the hook

"We call for the unconditional lifting of the political and economic sanctions, which have crippled our national development," Mnangagwa told a meeting of the ZANU-PF central committee in downtown Harare.

"We realise that isolation is not splendid or viable as there is more to gain through solidarity, mutually beneficial partnerships."

That smacks of the usual school bully tactics who loves trading on other people's toes, pretends not to notice and then insist it was an accident. After the blatant cooking up of the vote count in the March 2008 elections and wanton violence during the run-off that follow only an arrogant regime like Zanu-PF would pretend the imposition of sanctions to press the demand for free and fair elections is unjustified.

"Government will do all in its powers to ensure that the elections are credible, free and fair. These elections are nearer than what you expect," he said without elaborating.

This is nonsense! We need a free media and freedom of expression for free and fair elections. So if President Mnangagwa is serious about making sure next year's election are free and fair then why does he have a Minister of Information cum Propaganda in his cabinet, whose purpose is to stifle public discourse and retain Zanu-PF's strangle hold on the print and electronic media?

Why has President Mnangagwa institute public sector reforms designed to end Zanu-PF's undemocratic control of State Institutions such as the Police, ZEC, etc. to carry out their duties without fear or favour. There is no hope of holding free elections when the Police are under orders to turn a blind eye to Zanu-PF thuggery.

There is no way ZEC is going to produce a verified voters' roll before the next elections. President Mnangagwa knows only too well that this is a constitutional requirement and, more pointedly, that without such a roll the sky is the limit to the vote rigging mischief a seasoned company like NIKUV can do. With no verified voters' roll it will be nonsensical to claim the elections were free and fair!

President Mnangagwa does not deny that corruption has been a serious problem in Zimbabwe. He must know that Zanu-PF has siphoned billions of dollars from Marange diamonds to bankroll its many vote rigging schemes. How can an election be free and fair when one side has access to billions of dollars at taxpayers' expense when the other side has very little?

If President Mnangagwa did not agree with all that Mugabe has been doing all these years including rigging elections then, now that he is President, he should right all the wrongs Mugabe did. Happily, most if not all the political wrongs including implementing all the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections can be done quickly and little cost to the nation. The truth is President Mnangagwa agreed with Mugabe's agenda to establish the de facto one-party Zanu-PF dictatorship because he too benefited from the absolute power it brought and all the material wealth it brought. He has no intention of implementing the democratic reforms and risking it all in a free and fair election.

I have never ever heard President Mnangagwa promise "credible, free and fair elections"; he has done so now. Free, fair and credible election is a fundamental human right and an important pre-requisite for good governance. We must hold him to account if he fails to hold free and fair elections next year.

With no democratic reforms implemented there is no doubt that next year's elections will not be free, fair and credible. It is our duty to make sure the international community, especially SADC, dismiss the election as a sham. With no legitimately elected government, Zimbabwe will then be forced come up with some interim government which will be tasked to implement the democratic reforms and to hold fresh free elections.