'I will choose all senate candidate,' decrees Tsvangirai - last democratic vestiges gone

Babies are so flexible they can have their foot in their mouth. It is disconcerting when an adult makes a habit of having their foot in the mouth. Tsvangirai has the intellectual habit of putting both his feet in his mouth; because that is one concise way one can surmise his latest suggestion.

MDC-T is not going to have the traditional primary election to help decide who will represent the party in the coming elections. This is being abolished because it is "divisive", according to Tsvangirai; candidates are to be selected by consensus instead and here is how that works. "We will select our candidates through consensus," he explained. "Those who want to contest in a particular constituency must discuss among themselves and come to a consensus.

"I am waiting to hear the names of the odd ones, who will say they cannot find common ground [and] I will ask them if they are MDC or Zanu PF."

Well that is as clear as mud!

The opposition parties have been talking about coming together to form a grand coalition for donkey years and they have made zero progress because they could not agree on who was to lead. Leaders were going to be selected by consensus or could it be that Tsvangirai forgot to use the enchanted words, "Are you opposition or are you Zanu PF!"

For the odd reader who does not know Morgan Tsvangirai, he is the man who suggest anyone aspiring to be president of Zimbabwe should be asked if he/she knew where "Mbire or Tafara is". He just happened to know where Mbire is but will, not doubt, not know every anthill and stream in Zimbabwe. Why knowing where Mbire is has become so important is itself a measure of the man. Shallow-minded people have a knack for making mountains out of mole-hills, talk of anything of substance and they are lost "muchakasara" (helplessly lost, with no sense of direction).

"As regards, the Senate, this time, I will choose representatives on my own. I will personally vet those whose names will be put forward because I know every MDC cadre and their contribution to the party from the formation of the party."

Tsvangirai have changed the party's constitution to extend his stay in power beyond the two five-year term maximum limit and now he is the only one to select all the senatorial candidates. From now on, every MDC cadre will be beholden to Tsvangirai and all meaningful debate much less democratic competition has been stifled. All will be competing to catch Tsvangirai's attention by agreeing and/or praising him; all those who dare criticize will be throw with the Sodomites!

Why not just rename the party the Movement for Tsvangirai Change or something! The party has lost all the few democratic vestiges it had so why bother calling itself a democratic party.

Now it is easy to see why MDC leaders failed to get even one democratic reform implemented in five years of the GNU, they did not have a clue what democracy is and the likes of Tsvangirai, still has no clue even today.

We need to implement the democratic reforms to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship, there is no question about that one. What is also clear is the body, call it the National Transition Authority, to be tasked to implement the reforms must not include any of the politicians from MDC or Zanu PF who played a role in the GNU, we do not want to waste time and resourcing filling old bottles with new wine!