Many accept it is 'madness' contesting flawed election - they lack the guts to walk away

"It has been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Zimbabweans cannot, must not, participate in another ZANU PF controlled election. That would be madness indeed!" wrote Tapsom Muchena, in Nehanda.

He started so well but, sadly, he was soon hopelessly lost.

"The grand coalition must be a coalition against tyranny and not a coalition for entitlement to political office. A united opposition will require a high degree of cooperation and respect for each other to get behind true leaders dedicated uplifting the people and restoring the nation. ZANU PF is tearing itself apart because its leaders are locked in a bitter struggle for power. A united opposition must avoid the same pitfall," he argued.

He had rightly said "Zimbabweans cannot, must not participate in another Zanu PF controlled elections". He then made a complete summersault and landed flat on his face!

He was talking of the madness of participating in the Zanu PF controlled elections one minute and the next we is calling on building of a grand coalition to contest the election.

If Zanu PF has the licence to frogmarch voters to attend it rallies and vote for the party; can bus its hooded party supporters from one polling station to the next casting multiple votes; has billions of dollars of looted funds to bankroll its vote rigging activities; etc.; etc. How will the grand coalition, even if such an animal can be created this late before the elections, stop all these vote rigging shenanigans? The formation of the coalition is just being used to justify why we should contest the flawed election!

Whilst many Zimbabweans accept that participating in flawed elections is a totally meaningless and futile activity they have resigned themselves to elections taking place regardless their strong misgivings because they see themselves as totally helpless to do anything to stop the elections.

Of course, there is a lot people can do to make sure those is power know their strong objections to being denied their freedoms and basic human rights including the right to meaningful say in the governance of the country. And demand the implementation of the democratic reforms to restore all their freedoms and rights.

"We have demanded the reforms and Zanu PF has already said no!" many people will say. They are right.  

"You can't expect us to reform ourselves out of power," as Professor Jonathan Moyo put it, with the usual dismissive Zanu PF arrogance and finality.

Well the solution here, is that the people should repeat their demand for the reforms with assertiveness and resolve. In this case refuse to be dragged into another meaningless elections process and demand the implementation of the reforms BEFORE the elections. The people are demanding their right and not some privilege Zanu PF can give and deny as the regime sees fit.

Talking truth to power requires a clear and authoritative voice and not frightened Mickey Mouse voice. Zanu PF's dismissive arrogance is born out of the knowledge that the people of Zimbabwe will accept whatever nonsense the party dishes out to them regardless how blatantly unjust and oppressive it happens to be.

Of course, Zanu PF has no right to resist the implementation of the reforms to restore all our individual freedoms and rights. The party had no right corrupting the country's State Institution to subvert our multiparty democracy to impose its de facto one-party dictatorship.

The people can stop the holding of the next elections until reform are implemented by putting pressure on Morgan Tsvangirai to boycott the elections until reforms are implemented. The MDC leaders were advised by SADC leaders not to contest the July 2013 elections with no reform; the nation has paid dearly for MDC's failure to listen

Tsvangirai and his MDC friends have since the July 2013 rigged elections, pledged not to contest any future elections until the reforms are implemented. "No reform, no election!" they pledged. The people must hold the MDC leaders to account and demand their honour their pledge.

It is madness to contest an election one knows will be rigged and, worse still, knows that by contesting one is giving the flawed process the modicum of credibility and legitimacy. The solution is for the people to demand the implementation of the democratic reforms but, this time, so with conviction and refuse to compromise!

People should not bother registering to vote; what is the point when ZEC will make you jump through one hoop after another and, even if you go through, NIKUV will deliberately see to it your details are not in the voters' roll. Even if NIKUV has captured your details it can still post them in another constituency voters' roll different from the one you expected. Zanu PF has so, so many ways of rigging the vote SADC leaders were right; there really is no point in taking part in the election until reforms are implemented.

Many people accept the madness of contesting flawed elections but, even after 37 years of rigged elections, they still continue to go through the rituals of voter education; pray for change; voter registration with all the torturous demands the regime makes; etc. only for their vote to be discard one way or the other. All because they lack the common sense to accept that Zanu PF will never lose an election in which the party has the licence to rig the vote and therefore it is utterly pointless for them to continue participating.

If Zanu PF is refusing to reform itself out of office by participating in Zanu PF controlled elections we are only encouraging the regime to continue rigging elections. Zanu PF is playing with a loaded dice; we can either force them to use a normal dice or stop playing. It is damn to continue playing hoping against hope to win!