ZANU PF has forgotten that it was once an Opposition Party: Magaisa

Constitutional law expert and University of Kent law professor Alex Magaisa has alluded that the ruling Zanu-PF seems to have forgotten what life was like when it was the opposition party calling for an even electoral field. Writing on his blog, the Big Saturday Read, Magaisa said,

On 23 February 1980, ZANU PF took the United African National Council and others to the High Court protesting against the electoral playing field which they believed was against them. ZANU PF was led by Robert Mugabe and the UANC was led by Bishop Abel Muzorewa, who was the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. ZANU PF's complaint was that the UANC was bribing voters with food, entertainment and other activities at rallies. ZANU PF was effectively the opposition party, fighting to win an election in the first democratic elections in 1980.

This is an experience which they seem to have deliberately forgotten over the years. They and their supporters now accuse the opposition of being petty and a nuisance when they complain of an unlevel playing field in which biased electoral authorities are in charge. They either have short memories or they just don't care because they are now the ruling party, enjoying the benefits of incumbency. Even the electoral authority, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) have adopted the same narrative, accusing the opposition of being petty as they raise issues of concern.

…given what happened in 1980, they may have forgotten that despite the unlevel playing ground and despite efforts to stifle them, they still prevailed. It was possible in 1980 and it could still happen in 2018, that people will go beyond the vote-buying gimmicks of the incumbent, to do what is right. Much depends on the people's will to give ZANU PF those important reminders.