MDC-T must deal with Security Reforms if it wants to win 2018 General Elections

I greet all fellow Cadres in the struggle for Democracy in Zimbabwe.

On my own Political Research as from 2012 before the 2013 General Elections upto today, I have find a number of issues that we as MDC-T must dig deep and scrutinized on them. I just think to group them in 3 categories but they are all under "The Anatomy of Electoral Reforms" and I'm giving the third phase of my own research

(3) Securities and Elections

The third and last example relating to Electoral Reforms concerns the role and influence of the Security establishment in Elections. The MDC had been complaining for many years over the pervasive role and influence of the Securities in Electoral matters. On a number of occasions in the last 15 years, senior members of the military have made Political statements demonstrating a clear bias towards Zanu PF and against the MDC. In the run-up to the 2008 Presidential Run-off Election, the military were accused of running a campaign of violence against the MDC supporters. In the 2013 General Elections, military personnel were said to have carried out mobilization campaigns for Zanu PF particularly in the rural areas. All these aspects were seen as unlawful and unfair interference by the military in the election process.

But there are other, more subtle ways in which the security sector has influenced the electoral landscape. A number of senior military officers are retired into the civil service or state institutions. In some cases, serving officers are deployed in civilian institutions. Recently, we read that the Deputy Prosecutor-General, Florence Ziyambi was allegedly assaulted by senior members of the army who are currently deployed at the National Prosecuting Authority. However, the New Zimbabwe Constitution prohibits serving members of the military from involvement in civilian institutions. But all this is ignored.

It has long been suspected that bodies such as ZEC and others are populated by members of the Security Services. This is an important phenomenon, which goes to the very heart of Electoral Reforms which are often spoken of only in general terms by members of the MDC. But these kind of reforms do not happen overnight, especially if you understand the genesis and evolution of this phenomenon, where military men and women are deployed into civilian structures.

Those who understand the history of Zanu PF as a Military-Political Organization, know how this pattern has evolved since the years of the liberation struggle. Military historians have demonstrated how during the war Zanu PF developed a system of retiring or redeploying its senior guerrillas into political/civilian roles at the rear. This practice continued in the early years of Independence, as senior military personnel were deployed to civilian institutions.

Those who retired from the military over the years were also redeployed into civilian institutions. This has become more prominent and noticeable in recent years, but more because we are all paying more attention to it. The point here is that the so-called "Militarisation of the State" is by no means a new phenomenon. If you ask them, they will tell you that the re-deployment of former military men into civilian roles is not new or unique to Zimbabwe and that would be true. What as an Excellent MDC Party do on these issues and or we just want to ignore it because we don't have strategy to tackle it

I mention this because it is important to understand the nature of the beast and to appreciate what it means for the Electoral Reform Agenda. The truth of the matter is that Electoral Reforms are not and will never be a quick-fix job. There is no magic formula by which one day that MDC will wake up and say now there have been Electoral Reforms, therefore we will contest in future Elections. It is a very complex matter because by their very nature, some of the practices that we are grappling with as a nation are deeply ingrained in our institutions.

These Reforms will take years, if not decades to achieve. It's a system, indeed, a way of life that has been established over a long period of time. I do not see any particular change in this pattern before 2018 if we take these matters for granted and or its Prof Richard M Simango who said it. A few weeks ago, we saw the appointment of new diplomats to various countries. Virtually all of them were ex-military personnel being deployed and retired into civilian service. A narrow view might be that these have nothing to do with Elections but that would be to miss the point. Those appointments reflect a broader picture of the role and effect of the Security Establishment with the State Structure.

Prior to the 2013 elections, as part of the Reform Agenda, we spent weeks trying to get an agreement on a Code of Conduct for the Security Services in regard to the Election. It was drafted and discussed but there was no result, until the Election came and went. The draft is probably buried somewhere. I cannot see how it will be adopted now, with the MDC-T no longer having the little leverage we had while in Government (GNU). The New Constitution has clear requirements on the need to protect the Security Establishment from Politicisation. But at the same time, speaking at a political event, a Vice President of the country introduces the head of the military as the "real" political commissary of Zanu PF. They do this because they can and nobody can stop them, whatever the law says.

By now the MDC and other Opposition Parties must surely know that the problem is hardly with the men and women who are commissioners of ZEC. They are figureheads who have no power in real terms, notwithstanding what the New Constitution or the Electoral Law says. If we are to take any blame, it is that we have allowed to carry a burden that is not ours and to soil our reputations in the process. We are to be pitied, not blamed.

The MDC-T Party knows or should know that the real centre of Authority is in the Secretarial of ZEC and another obscure, less-known but most critical organ called the "National Logistics Committee", which is the one that actually Runs the Elections. This committee is populated largely by Zanu PF functionary, albeit under the cover of Civil Service and State Institutional roles. Many people know about ZEC but very few are aware of this crucial Committee. And because no-one pays attention to it, they literally do as they please. Those who run the logistics of an Election control the Election. If we as MDC-T want Reforms, we must look into these little and obscure but critical bodies.
When the  MDC and other opposition parties negotiated the GNU, we concentrated on Reforming the Top-Tier of ZEC, by nominating our own Commissioners. This also happened in other Commissions. What we did not know then, was that the real site of reform was not that top-tier but the lower-tier consisting of the Secretarial and the other little but obscure bodies like the National Logistics Committee.

In my conclusion, all this raises an important issue that the Electorate must be asking: What is the MDC-T doing to ensure that Reforms are Implemented. Because to be sure, Electoral Reforms are not merely about changing the Laws and Regulations. They go deeper than that, into the attitude, behavior and conduct of those with responsibilities under the Electoral Laws and in Electoral Institutions. Failure to abide by the rules must have a cost. If there is no cost or if the cost is law, there is no incentive for them to comply. What we as MDC-T should be focusing on are ways in which to raise the cost of Non-Compliance with Electoral Laws.

Election boycotts works, as was the case in the Presidential run-off Election in 2008. His Excellence President Dr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai boycotted that Election and it raised the cost of non-compliance, forcing Robbery Garbage Mugabe and Zanu PF to the Negotiating Table even after he had "won" a "resounding victory" in what was effectively a One-Man Race. The price of Non-Compliance,Intimidation,Harassment and Violence was that the result was robbed of its Legitimacy and Recognition

I raised the issues to highlight the complexities of the Electoral Reform Agenda. It is not a simple overnight affair. My fear is that if we MDC-T stick to this line religiously and refuse to be flexible to deal with Elections on a case by case basis, it could be a very long time before we contest Zanu PF. Rather than box ourselves in the "No Elections Without Reforms" corner, the MDC-T need to be exploring avenues by which to confront and beat the system, however skewed it is.

Two years ago, Zanu PF was intact and working solidly as a unit. This is no longer the case. The reconfiguration of the political landscape is itself a new space that has been created which can and must be exploited. Two years ago, MDC-T had virtually no access into the old Zanu PF structures. This has changed, with the vanquished Mujuru group opening up new channels that we as MDC-T can and must exploited.

The truth of the matter is that it is going to take an exceedingly lengthy period of time before Electoral Reforms as highlighted in this post can be achieved. But meanwhile, the MDC-T Cadres must remain vigilant and alert to the new opportunities and avenues that the evolving political landscape is generating. That way we can liberate ourself from the "No Elections Without Reforms" box.

For a long time after the 2013 Elections I was despondent and had written off the 2018 elections. The events in Zanu PF over the last half-year and the fact that the ruling party has shown itself to utterly incapable of transforming the economy and therefore the downward spiral of the economy have revived some minute hope that there might still be a chance. It will depend not merely on Electoral Reforms, but whether the MDC-T Party, including the new entrants can exploit the opportunity that is presented. If the MDC-T does not free itself from the box of "No Elections Without Reforms", we might never contest an Election again because these Reforms might never come to complete satisfaction. What's better is to seize opportunities when they arise

Allow me to thank all tried and tested dedicated Cadres in the struggle but let's make sure all the above mentioned issues are in order before 2018 and our victory is certain

Let's keep united as one family and stay focused but let's exploit opportunities if the rises