Now is Mugabe's time

UP to this day, supporters of Hillary Clinton have not yet come to terms with the way she was thumped by Donald Trump. They just can't believe it happened.

Many are still hoping they are having an unnecessarily long dream. They hope to wake up one day and be told that Clinton was the winner.

Unfortunately, they are not dreaming. Trump is now the US President and he is doing things that no other American President has ever done. He is doing those things with no shame and no regret. "This can't be true and this can't be happening in our Mighty America," many Americans are saying.

Well, it's true and it's happening in Mighty America. Now, what has those long-gone American elections got to do with Zimbabwe?

Something is brewing and Zanu-PF better smell the coffee. It looks like there is some Clinton trick being cooked somewhere.

Recently, Afrobarometer came out projecting that President Mugabe would win the 2018 elections. Several other opinion polls have projected a win for Zanu-PF and President Mugabe. University professors are saying the same thing. Nonentities in the political equation have joined the bandwagon. Raymond Majongwe says President Mugabe will win the elections next year with an even wider margin. That little-known prophet from Masvingo, Isaac Makomichi of the Miracle Healing and Deliverance church says the opposition parties are wasting their time because President is going to win next year.

They are all saying it's a done deal and even the opposition is beginning to believe that next year is all about trying to stop Zanu-PF from winning two-thirds majority in Parliament. Well, let's take a few lessons from the US elections.

The results of the US presidential election came as a surprise to nearly everyone who had been following the national and state election polling, which on many occasions projected Clinton as the outright and obvious winner. Opinion polls, election forecasters were putting Clinton's chances of winning at around 70 percent. Others even projected a 99 percent win for Clinton.

During the campaigns, Clinton looked like and behaved like the President in waiting. Remember that smile of hers. Even the way she waved at her supporters, it was as if she was already rehearsing for her inauguration. Her supporters thought it was just a matter of time. It actually looked like it was indeed a matter of time. Soon after the elections, the over-confident Clinton started making preparations to celebrate her victory.

And then the results started coming. First it seemed like a joke, then that bad joke turned into reality. Trump was trampling all over Clinton. You could see disbelief in the eyes of many people.

There is a lot of speculation as to what really happened and up to now no one seems to know why the opinion polls were so way off the mark. News organisations like CNN, SkyNews, BBC and so on have not yet understood what really happened and they are now going after Trump the person.

The misleading polls and media representation have left many people wondering what really happened during the US elections.

Zanu-PF should not fall for the trick otherwise come 2018, the party will be wondering just like Clinton and his supporters are still wondering in America. Opinion polls are just opinion polls. Opinion polls don't register people to vote. Opinion polls don't mobilise people to vote and opinion polls don't vote.

That is why reports that the party is targeting to register five million voters in preparation for next year's elections are welcome. And that is why the hugely successful Presidential Youth Interface Rallies that have shown that President Mugabe remains just too popular are the way to go.

The opposition grand coalition has failed as was witnessed yesterday and indeed it looks like Zanu-PF can only defeat itself during the elections next year, but still it's important to always remember the Clinton tragedy. Those who are still in the mood to fight in Zanu-PF should postpone their fight. Now is President Mugabe's time.