Opinion / Columnist
Coltart accuse international of 'white-washing' rigged election - who supplied the white-wash, MDC?
26 Jul 2018 at 14:18hrs | Views
"Coltart accuses international community of 'white-washing' Zim election!" screamed the headlines in Bulawayo24!
Yes, it is very true that there are some sections of the international community who would "white-wash" these flawed and illegal elections by judging them free, fair and credible for their own selfish reasons. But if the truth must be said, it MUST be said, it is the corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders like David Coltart who have provided these foreigners all the white-wash and free labour!
"It (MDC Alliance) has also raised concerns over the quality of the voters roll. An opposition-aligned group of analysts, TeamPachedu, claims that up to 900 000 records on the roll had been tampered with," continued the report. "The international community needs to know that these are not superficial concerns. These are valid concerns based on the breach of the law," Coltart said in comments carried by the private Daily News.
True these are not superficial concerns and there are a whole host of other concerns equally important such as ZEC's failure to release a clean and verified voters' roll at least one month before nomination day, as is required by law. It is all very rich for Mr Coltart to ask the international community not to sweep these very serious issues under the carpet when that is exactly what he and his MDC friends have done!
MDC Alliance KNEW that ZEC had not released the voters' roll even by nomination day, 14 June, but they all pretended not to notice and they all lodged their nomination papers.
Today, we are just 4 days away to voting day and still ZEC has not released credible, clean and verified voters' roll and still the MDC Alliance members are all as keen as mustard to participate in these elections regardless!
If Zanu PF knew that MDC leaders will NOT participate in the elections no verified voters' roll, for example; they would have seen to it that it was released. As things are, Zanu PF knew MDC would participate in the elections regardless of ZEC failing to release the voters' roll and so, surprise, surprise, there is no voters' roll. Common sense, really!
MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms designed to take away Zanu PF's carte blanche powers to rig the elections during the GNU. They failed to implement even one reform in five years.
"MDC believed it had the numbers to overwhelm all Zanu PF's vote rigging shenanigans!" the late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai confessed soon after Zanu PF blatant rigging to secure another landslide victory in the 2013 elections.
"If we believe in the rule of law then we must believe in the rule of law; everyone, including the international community," Coltart, a lawyer by profession, pontificated!
To these corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders: the democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections are not necessary as long as MDC feels confident it will win the elections. However if MDC should lose the elections then all hell breaks loose. They will complain of "Zanu PF stealing the elections!" and accuse SADC and the international community of "white-washing" the flawed process.
For umpteenth time Mr Coltart; these elections not be taking place, not without first implementing the democratic reforms setting out the ground rules to ensure free, fair and credible election. Those who agree to taking part in the elections with no reforms in place are, per se, agreeing to playing with no rules and therefore must not complain, after they have lost, that the opponents broke the rules!
Zanu PF is set to rig these elections and, by agreeing to take part with no reform in place, MDC have provided the smoke screen the regime need to hide the blatant vote rigging.
One only hopes the international community will not punish the whole of Zimbabwe because of MDC leaders' repeated blundering incompetence in participating in these flawed elections with no reforms. The international observers cannot, in all honesty, pretend these elections are free, fair and credible when the regime has failed to provide something as basic as a credible, clean and verified voters' roll.
What the long suffering people of Zimbabwe want from SADC and the international community is for them to declare these elections null and void. By doing so they will give this nation a chance to revisit the raft of democratic reforms agreed at the onset of the 2008 GNU and, this time, make sure all the reforms are implemented.
Please! Please! Give us a chance to get out of this hell-on-earth that Zanu PF and its acolyte MDC partner have landed us. Please, we beg of you!
Yes, it is very true that there are some sections of the international community who would "white-wash" these flawed and illegal elections by judging them free, fair and credible for their own selfish reasons. But if the truth must be said, it MUST be said, it is the corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders like David Coltart who have provided these foreigners all the white-wash and free labour!
"It (MDC Alliance) has also raised concerns over the quality of the voters roll. An opposition-aligned group of analysts, TeamPachedu, claims that up to 900 000 records on the roll had been tampered with," continued the report. "The international community needs to know that these are not superficial concerns. These are valid concerns based on the breach of the law," Coltart said in comments carried by the private Daily News.
True these are not superficial concerns and there are a whole host of other concerns equally important such as ZEC's failure to release a clean and verified voters' roll at least one month before nomination day, as is required by law. It is all very rich for Mr Coltart to ask the international community not to sweep these very serious issues under the carpet when that is exactly what he and his MDC friends have done!
MDC Alliance KNEW that ZEC had not released the voters' roll even by nomination day, 14 June, but they all pretended not to notice and they all lodged their nomination papers.
Today, we are just 4 days away to voting day and still ZEC has not released credible, clean and verified voters' roll and still the MDC Alliance members are all as keen as mustard to participate in these elections regardless!
If Zanu PF knew that MDC leaders will NOT participate in the elections no verified voters' roll, for example; they would have seen to it that it was released. As things are, Zanu PF knew MDC would participate in the elections regardless of ZEC failing to release the voters' roll and so, surprise, surprise, there is no voters' roll. Common sense, really!
MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms designed to take away Zanu PF's carte blanche powers to rig the elections during the GNU. They failed to implement even one reform in five years.
"MDC believed it had the numbers to overwhelm all Zanu PF's vote rigging shenanigans!" the late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai confessed soon after Zanu PF blatant rigging to secure another landslide victory in the 2013 elections.
"If we believe in the rule of law then we must believe in the rule of law; everyone, including the international community," Coltart, a lawyer by profession, pontificated!
To these corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders: the democratic reforms to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections are not necessary as long as MDC feels confident it will win the elections. However if MDC should lose the elections then all hell breaks loose. They will complain of "Zanu PF stealing the elections!" and accuse SADC and the international community of "white-washing" the flawed process.
For umpteenth time Mr Coltart; these elections not be taking place, not without first implementing the democratic reforms setting out the ground rules to ensure free, fair and credible election. Those who agree to taking part in the elections with no reforms in place are, per se, agreeing to playing with no rules and therefore must not complain, after they have lost, that the opponents broke the rules!
Zanu PF is set to rig these elections and, by agreeing to take part with no reform in place, MDC have provided the smoke screen the regime need to hide the blatant vote rigging.
One only hopes the international community will not punish the whole of Zimbabwe because of MDC leaders' repeated blundering incompetence in participating in these flawed elections with no reforms. The international observers cannot, in all honesty, pretend these elections are free, fair and credible when the regime has failed to provide something as basic as a credible, clean and verified voters' roll.
What the long suffering people of Zimbabwe want from SADC and the international community is for them to declare these elections null and void. By doing so they will give this nation a chance to revisit the raft of democratic reforms agreed at the onset of the 2008 GNU and, this time, make sure all the reforms are implemented.
Please! Please! Give us a chance to get out of this hell-on-earth that Zanu PF and its acolyte MDC partner have landed us. Please, we beg of you!
Source - zsdemocrats.blogspot.co.uk
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
