Opinion / National
'Zanu-PF is brazenly and openly rigging elections' - that has failed to deter MDC, why
19 Aug 2019 at 17:23hrs | Views
"These are the wages of rigging by the military, which now rigs elections in the rural areas brazenly and openly. For ZANU-PF to keep winning, it needs the military to keep rigging, and the rural areas to remain rural. ZANU-PF has no future in an urbanized and developed Zimbabwe. Zero!" twittered Professor Jonathan Moyo.
When asked by one user whether the army started rigging post November 2017 coup Moyo said, "Of course not. I was a victim of their rigging on 2013 and I took them to court all the way up to the Supreme Court. I also took George Chiweshe to court in 2008 over rigging issues. Needless to say I lost the court battles. But aluta continua!"
Jonathan Moyo is confirming something we have known all along. The question we have to ask is why is the opposition continuing to participate in elections we all know are flawed and illegal?
This is a rhetorical question because we all know the answer to that – 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 (2013) elections," confessed David Coltart, MDC minister of Education in the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
"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."
Three of the main MDC factions did form a coalition before last year's election and still they participated in the elections knowing fully well Zanu-PF will rig the elections; proof MDC would have participated in the elections coalition or no coalition.
Indeed, last year's elections saw a record number of opposition parties, 130, and candidates, 23 in the presidential race alone, participating in the elections. Even ZEC's blatant failure to produce something as basic as a verified voters' roll a month before nomination day, as is required by law and common sense, did not in any way, shape or form dampen the opposition's enthusiasm in the elections.
The one thing Zanu-PF learned during the 2008 to 2013 GNU was that as long as the party allows the opposition to win a few gravy train seats, the party can continue rigging elections as before and still be guaranteed of opposition participation.
So, it is not Zanu-PF rigging elections that we should be concerned about but how to stop the opposition participating and giving credibility to a flawed and illegal process. We, the electorate, need to wake-up to the political reality that MDC has been running with the hare and hunting with the Zanu-PF hounds for scraps! And until we do, there will be no free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe.
When asked by one user whether the army started rigging post November 2017 coup Moyo said, "Of course not. I was a victim of their rigging on 2013 and I took them to court all the way up to the Supreme Court. I also took George Chiweshe to court in 2008 over rigging issues. Needless to say I lost the court battles. But aluta continua!"
Jonathan Moyo is confirming something we have known all along. The question we have to ask is why is the opposition continuing to participate in elections we all know are flawed and illegal?
This is a rhetorical question because we all know the answer to that – 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 (2013) elections," confessed David Coltart, MDC minister of Education in the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
Three of the main MDC factions did form a coalition before last year's election and still they participated in the elections knowing fully well Zanu-PF will rig the elections; proof MDC would have participated in the elections coalition or no coalition.
Indeed, last year's elections saw a record number of opposition parties, 130, and candidates, 23 in the presidential race alone, participating in the elections. Even ZEC's blatant failure to produce something as basic as a verified voters' roll a month before nomination day, as is required by law and common sense, did not in any way, shape or form dampen the opposition's enthusiasm in the elections.
The one thing Zanu-PF learned during the 2008 to 2013 GNU was that as long as the party allows the opposition to win a few gravy train seats, the party can continue rigging elections as before and still be guaranteed of opposition participation.
So, it is not Zanu-PF rigging elections that we should be concerned about but how to stop the opposition participating and giving credibility to a flawed and illegal process. We, the electorate, need to wake-up to the political reality that MDC has been running with the hare and hunting with the Zanu-PF hounds for scraps! And until we do, there will be no free, fair and credible elections in Zimbabwe.
Source - zsdemocrats.blogspot.com
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