Opinion / Columnist
'We will trounce Zanu PF,' says MDC - tell us how you trounce rigged election or shut up
01 May 2018 at 19:29hrs | Views
"We Will Trounce Zanu PF- MDC!" screamed the Zimeye headline. Former government employee Lloyd Mupfudze who is likely to contest in the House of Assembly election in Gutu Central Constituency on an MDC ticket is upbeat about victory.
"Ladies and Gentlemen I am glad to announce that my beloved party MDC T led by President Advocate Nelson Chamisa has approved my candidature for the 2018 general election.
"I will be contesting with fellow cadres in the primary elections to be held in due course.
Gutu Central is our constituency. I am confident of winning both the primary elections and the Gutu North Parliamentary Seat," said Mupfudze.
The trouble with those MDC leaders is that they have made these election victory claims time and time again but have gone on to be trounced instead. What is at issue here is not so much that the opposition have lost the elections but that Zanu PF blatantly rigged the elections. It is not so much that the individual opposition candidate or party was cheated but more importantly that the voters and the nation at large is being cheated.
Opposition candidate like Mupfudze and political parties themselves like MDC Alliance are not doing the voters and the nation any favours by failing to do everything in their power to ensure there is no cheating, the elections are free, fair and credible. Politicians should not just be concerned about the result but also in the process.
If elections are not free, fair and credible, the whole electoral system will become a meaningless farce, a worst of time and resources and the voters lose confidence in the whole electoral process. There is the important issue of denying the voters a meaningful say in the governance of the country. But worst of all, a nation that fails to nurture and guard a functional democratic system as a peaceful and orderly system of government is certain to have corrupt and tyrannical government.
Zimbabwe is in this economic mess with unemployment a nauseating 90%, our basic services such as health is such a sorry state the filthy rich ruling elite are now routinely going to SA, Singapore, etc. for all their health needs, etc. because for the last 38 years the nation has been stuck with an incompetent, corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime. The party has rigged elections to stay in power.
So, the issue of making sure elections are free, fair and credible is a serious matter and, sadly, the country's opposition has failed to treat it with the seriousness and urgency the matter demands.
In the landmark 2008 elections when Zanu PF showed the sickening depths of political madness the party would sink to rig and win the elections. SADC leaders forced Mugabe to agree to the implementation of a raft of democratic reforms designed to end the sadistic barbarism of the 2008 election.
SADC leaders were disappointed that not even one reform was implemented during the five years of the GNU. They made it very clear that Zimbabwe should not hold the elections without first implementing the reforms.
MDC leaders dragged the nation into the 2013 elections with no reforms, convinced they will win the elections "regardless of all Zanu PF vote rigging shenanigans," as Tsvangirai later confessed.
Five years after the rigged 2013 elections, still with not even one reform in place MDC leaders are once again dragging the nation into these flawed and illegal elections on the promise the party has devised "stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections"! Ask Chamisa to name even one of these measures he keeps wittering about and so far he has failed to do so.
The only way to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections is by implementing the democratic reforms. All these talks of stringent measures to stop rigging, united opposition into a grand coalition, mobilising the voters to vote, Winning In Rigged Elections strategies, etc.; they are all feeble excuses to justify taking part in the flawed election.
If winning 73% of the vote is not good enough to win then the process is unbeatable and it must be reformed without further undo.
The only reason MDC leaders have stubbornly refused to listen to SADC leaders' advice to demand the reform before elections is greed.
"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 elections," admitted former MDC Senator David Coltart in his book.
"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."
Senator Coltart was commenting on why he and his MDC contested the 2013 elections. The MDC factions have since formed the MDC Alliance but there is no talk of boycotting this year's elections for the same reason as before – greed.
The people of Zimbabwe must condemn President Mnangagwa and his junta for refusing to implement the democratic reforms and restore the people's freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections. We must also denounce the MDC and the rest of the opposition camp for dragging the nation into these flawed elections for no other reason than greed.
But, most important of all, the people of Zimbabwe must demand that these flawed elections be declared null and void and allow the nation to get out of this seemingly intractable and vicious cycle of rigged elections and bad governance. We need to appointment an interim administration to implement the democratic reforms and hold the nation's first ever free, fair and credible elections!
Zimbabweans are desperate to end the economic meltdown but that will never happen meaningful political reforms and that means implement the reforms.
It is all very well Mupfudze and all the other opposition candidates boosting of "trouncing Zanu PF" and ignoring the blatant vote rigging taking place. They will all be crying foul by the end of the elections. If Mupfudze & co. cannot tell us how they are going to trounce rigged elections then they must shut up. All they are doing is making it easy for Zanu PF to pretend these are democratic election. Zimbabwe cannot afford another rigged election and another five more years of incompetent, corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF rule!
"Ladies and Gentlemen I am glad to announce that my beloved party MDC T led by President Advocate Nelson Chamisa has approved my candidature for the 2018 general election.
"I will be contesting with fellow cadres in the primary elections to be held in due course.
Gutu Central is our constituency. I am confident of winning both the primary elections and the Gutu North Parliamentary Seat," said Mupfudze.
The trouble with those MDC leaders is that they have made these election victory claims time and time again but have gone on to be trounced instead. What is at issue here is not so much that the opposition have lost the elections but that Zanu PF blatantly rigged the elections. It is not so much that the individual opposition candidate or party was cheated but more importantly that the voters and the nation at large is being cheated.
Opposition candidate like Mupfudze and political parties themselves like MDC Alliance are not doing the voters and the nation any favours by failing to do everything in their power to ensure there is no cheating, the elections are free, fair and credible. Politicians should not just be concerned about the result but also in the process.
If elections are not free, fair and credible, the whole electoral system will become a meaningless farce, a worst of time and resources and the voters lose confidence in the whole electoral process. There is the important issue of denying the voters a meaningful say in the governance of the country. But worst of all, a nation that fails to nurture and guard a functional democratic system as a peaceful and orderly system of government is certain to have corrupt and tyrannical government.
Zimbabwe is in this economic mess with unemployment a nauseating 90%, our basic services such as health is such a sorry state the filthy rich ruling elite are now routinely going to SA, Singapore, etc. for all their health needs, etc. because for the last 38 years the nation has been stuck with an incompetent, corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime. The party has rigged elections to stay in power.
So, the issue of making sure elections are free, fair and credible is a serious matter and, sadly, the country's opposition has failed to treat it with the seriousness and urgency the matter demands.
In the landmark 2008 elections when Zanu PF showed the sickening depths of political madness the party would sink to rig and win the elections. SADC leaders forced Mugabe to agree to the implementation of a raft of democratic reforms designed to end the sadistic barbarism of the 2008 election.
SADC leaders were disappointed that not even one reform was implemented during the five years of the GNU. They made it very clear that Zimbabwe should not hold the elections without first implementing the reforms.
MDC leaders dragged the nation into the 2013 elections with no reforms, convinced they will win the elections "regardless of all Zanu PF vote rigging shenanigans," as Tsvangirai later confessed.
Five years after the rigged 2013 elections, still with not even one reform in place MDC leaders are once again dragging the nation into these flawed and illegal elections on the promise the party has devised "stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections"! Ask Chamisa to name even one of these measures he keeps wittering about and so far he has failed to do so.
The only way to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections is by implementing the democratic reforms. All these talks of stringent measures to stop rigging, united opposition into a grand coalition, mobilising the voters to vote, Winning In Rigged Elections strategies, etc.; they are all feeble excuses to justify taking part in the flawed election.
If winning 73% of the vote is not good enough to win then the process is unbeatable and it must be reformed without further undo.
The only reason MDC leaders have stubbornly refused to listen to SADC leaders' advice to demand the reform before elections is greed.
"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 elections," admitted former MDC Senator David Coltart in his book.
"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."
Senator Coltart was commenting on why he and his MDC contested the 2013 elections. The MDC factions have since formed the MDC Alliance but there is no talk of boycotting this year's elections for the same reason as before – greed.
The people of Zimbabwe must condemn President Mnangagwa and his junta for refusing to implement the democratic reforms and restore the people's freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections. We must also denounce the MDC and the rest of the opposition camp for dragging the nation into these flawed elections for no other reason than greed.
But, most important of all, the people of Zimbabwe must demand that these flawed elections be declared null and void and allow the nation to get out of this seemingly intractable and vicious cycle of rigged elections and bad governance. We need to appointment an interim administration to implement the democratic reforms and hold the nation's first ever free, fair and credible elections!
Zimbabweans are desperate to end the economic meltdown but that will never happen meaningful political reforms and that means implement the reforms.
It is all very well Mupfudze and all the other opposition candidates boosting of "trouncing Zanu PF" and ignoring the blatant vote rigging taking place. They will all be crying foul by the end of the elections. If Mupfudze & co. cannot tell us how they are going to trounce rigged elections then they must shut up. All they are doing is making it easy for Zanu PF to pretend these are democratic election. Zimbabwe cannot afford another rigged election and another five more years of incompetent, corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF rule!
Source - zsdemocrats.blogspot.co.uk
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