Opinion / Columnist
MDC-T have forgotten 'No reform, no election!' with night sleep like the baboon!
07 Feb 2017 at 21:53hrs | Views
"We have suffered enough as youths and as Zimbabweans and we are now ready to map our future. We are not going to allow Zanu PF to rig the 2018 elections as we are going to protect our votes and defend them vigorously," warned MDC-T youth leader, Happymore Chidziva.
MDC-T must have an echo-chamber in the Harvey House where the party's hot-heads can get indoctrinated and brainwashed with the party's unique idiosyncratic nonsense.
The party was warned that Zanu PF rigs elections and the solution is to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to stop the vote rigging, the political violence and all the other election irregularities. Throughout the GNU, SADC leaders reminded Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to follow the 2008 GPA roadmap and implement the agreed reforms. MDC failed to get even one reform implemented in five years.
MDC took part in the 2013 elections confident the party will stop Zanu PF rigging the vote and go on to win the elections. Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the vote and win the elections with a landslide victory!
Tsvangirai's claim that Zanu PF "stole the elections" fell on deaf SADC leaders' ears because they had warned him this would happened and he would not listen.
After the lesson of the rigged July 2013 elections, Tsvangirai and his MDC-T members vowed they will never again contest any elections until the reforms are implemented to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote! We should have never allowed Tsvangirai to sleep after that resolution because he forgot the vote rigging and the resolution; MDC is contesting the 2018 elections as if 2013 vote rigging never happen.
"We are now ready to defend our future. We cannot allow Zanu PF to do whatever it wants with us and in 2018 we are absolutely going to defend people from Zanu PF's terror campaign," promised the MDC-T youth leader.
"What (President Robert) Mugabe and his party did in the Bikita West by-election does not scare us, and we are warning them that this time around they must not press this violence button again. Enough is enough."
Was MDC-T not ready to defend the vote and the people from Zanu PF abuse in 2013?
Yes! Yes! It is all very well MDC-T warning these Zanu PF thugs for the umpteenth time "not to press this violence button again"; what the nation wants to know is what MDC will do to stop these thugs pressing the bloody button?
The only thing MDC can do is to boycott elections they know will be rigged. The only reason MDC-T will not boycott the elections is they, like all the other politicians in the opposition camp cannot resist the bait Zanu PF is offering those who contest.
"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," explained 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."
The Senator was commenting on why MDC leaders contested the 2013 elections but the same can be said about the 2018 elections.
We all know Zanu PF thugs will "push the violence button" again and again and many innocent Zimbabweans will suffer. MDC-T youths like Chidziva like Tsvangirai disappear in the Netherland Embassy or some such hide-out. We know the elections will be rigged and Tsvangirai will complain of "stolen elections" but a good night sleep will make him forget his "No reform, no election!" resolution and contest the next elections.
"Tsvangirai igudo rinokangamwa chezuro nehope!" (Tsvangirai is like the baboon that forget yesterday's bad experience after a night's sleep!) as the Shona would say. This is nothing like its favourite food to make the baboon forget the past mishaps; for Tsvangirai and his fellow opposition politicians lose their heads at the prospect of a gravity train seat!
The truth is Zimbabwe is in serious economic trouble, unemployment has been 80% plus for the past 15 years, millions now live in abject poverty and basic services such as education and health have all but collapsed. Millions have left the country in search of any job, just to survive. SA is threatening to send back 200 000 Zimbabweans end of the year, as if the country does not have enough problems!
The pressure on Zimbabwe to end the 37 years of Zanu PF misrule and start addressing the country's underlying economic ills is now great; it is not just a matter of life and death but the stability of the nation is now at stake. Zimbabwe cannot afford yet another rigged election, period!
We must demand the implementation of the democratic reforms BEFORE an election. All promises by MDC-T to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections is just hot-air; they will do nothing to stop the rigging, as usual.
MDC-T must have an echo-chamber in the Harvey House where the party's hot-heads can get indoctrinated and brainwashed with the party's unique idiosyncratic nonsense.
The party was warned that Zanu PF rigs elections and the solution is to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to stop the vote rigging, the political violence and all the other election irregularities. Throughout the GNU, SADC leaders reminded Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to follow the 2008 GPA roadmap and implement the agreed reforms. MDC failed to get even one reform implemented in five years.
MDC took part in the 2013 elections confident the party will stop Zanu PF rigging the vote and go on to win the elections. Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the vote and win the elections with a landslide victory!
Tsvangirai's claim that Zanu PF "stole the elections" fell on deaf SADC leaders' ears because they had warned him this would happened and he would not listen.
After the lesson of the rigged July 2013 elections, Tsvangirai and his MDC-T members vowed they will never again contest any elections until the reforms are implemented to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote! We should have never allowed Tsvangirai to sleep after that resolution because he forgot the vote rigging and the resolution; MDC is contesting the 2018 elections as if 2013 vote rigging never happen.
"We are now ready to defend our future. We cannot allow Zanu PF to do whatever it wants with us and in 2018 we are absolutely going to defend people from Zanu PF's terror campaign," promised the MDC-T youth leader.
"What (President Robert) Mugabe and his party did in the Bikita West by-election does not scare us, and we are warning them that this time around they must not press this violence button again. Enough is enough."
Was MDC-T not ready to defend the vote and the people from Zanu PF abuse in 2013?
Yes! Yes! It is all very well MDC-T warning these Zanu PF thugs for the umpteenth time "not to press this violence button again"; what the nation wants to know is what MDC will do to stop these thugs pressing the bloody button?
The only thing MDC can do is to boycott elections they know will be rigged. The only reason MDC-T will not boycott the elections is they, like all the other politicians in the opposition camp cannot resist the bait Zanu PF is offering those who contest.
"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," explained 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."
The Senator was commenting on why MDC leaders contested the 2013 elections but the same can be said about the 2018 elections.
We all know Zanu PF thugs will "push the violence button" again and again and many innocent Zimbabweans will suffer. MDC-T youths like Chidziva like Tsvangirai disappear in the Netherland Embassy or some such hide-out. We know the elections will be rigged and Tsvangirai will complain of "stolen elections" but a good night sleep will make him forget his "No reform, no election!" resolution and contest the next elections.
"Tsvangirai igudo rinokangamwa chezuro nehope!" (Tsvangirai is like the baboon that forget yesterday's bad experience after a night's sleep!) as the Shona would say. This is nothing like its favourite food to make the baboon forget the past mishaps; for Tsvangirai and his fellow opposition politicians lose their heads at the prospect of a gravity train seat!
The truth is Zimbabwe is in serious economic trouble, unemployment has been 80% plus for the past 15 years, millions now live in abject poverty and basic services such as education and health have all but collapsed. Millions have left the country in search of any job, just to survive. SA is threatening to send back 200 000 Zimbabweans end of the year, as if the country does not have enough problems!
The pressure on Zimbabwe to end the 37 years of Zanu PF misrule and start addressing the country's underlying economic ills is now great; it is not just a matter of life and death but the stability of the nation is now at stake. Zimbabwe cannot afford yet another rigged election, period!
We must demand the implementation of the democratic reforms BEFORE an election. All promises by MDC-T to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections is just hot-air; they will do nothing to stop the rigging, as usual.
Source - Nomusa Garikai
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