Opinion / Columnist
MDC will continue contesting flawed elections - proof they are now utterly useless, vakadzi vaMugabe
17 Aug 2017 at 08:27hrs | Views
It was the firebrand former Zanu PF MP turn independent MP Margaret Dongo who once said of her follow Zanu PF MPs, cabinet minister and other senior party leaders "vakadzi vaMugabe!" (They are Mugabe's subservient concubines!) She said this is sheer exasperation at how utterly useless the party leaders had become. Instead of expressing an alternative point of view which would have enriched government decisions, they accepted everything Mugabe said and did without a memoir, even when the tyrant was clearly doing something outrageous, such as the Gukurahundi massacres.
It did not take long after the formation of the GNU for Mugabe to extend his harem to Harvest House, MDC HQ. When it comes to MDC leaders bringing about meaningful democratic change, which is what the nation has risked life and limb to elect them into power to do, Tsvangirai and his MDC friends have proven to be utterly useless, they might just as well be vakadzi vaMugabe too!
The MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms proposed by SADC in the 2008 Global Political Agreement. The reforms were designed to stop Zanu PF rigging future elections and thus stop a repeat of the blatant vote rigging and wanton violence of 2008. MDC had five years to implement the reforms and yet failed to get not even one reform implemented. Not even one reform!
With no democratic reforms in place it was clear that Zanu PF would once again rig the vote and use violence to secure a landslide victory. How much violence the party used has always depended on how effective the vote rigging schemes happened to be. The enormous wealth coming from the looted diamonds has enable the regime to bankroll very elaborate and expensive vote rigging schemes. It was evident that with no reforms in place Zanu PF was going to rig the 2013 elections and SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to contest the elections until reforms are implemented.
"If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done," SADC leaders warned the MDC leaders at the regional group summit in Maputo in June 2013, according to Dr Ibbo Mandaza who was there.
In fact, the signs that the elections were being rigged were there for anyone to see; SADC leaders saw the signs and so did the MDC leaders themselves. David Coltart confirmed in his recent book that MDC leaders had complained of why ZEC had allocated more voter registration centres in Mhondoro with a population of 100 000 than in Harare or Bulawayo each with a population of 2 million plus. The first is a rural area and thus a Zanu PF strong hold whilst the last two were urban and MDC strong holds.
ZEC had also, stubbornly refused to release the voters' roll a month before voting day, at the latest, as is required by law. Alarm bells the size of church-bell should have been ringing in MDC leaders' heads warning them against the folly of contesting elections Zanu PF was clearing set to rig!
So, we should make this crystal clear here; by contesting an electoral process knowing Zanu PF would rig the vote MDC leaders were not serving the people of Zimbabwe, who yearned for democratic changes to restore their freedoms and human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections.
Indeed, what these vakadzi vaMugabe in Harvest House were doing by contesting the flawed elections was give the process credibility, as David Coltart readily admitted.
"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 Coltart.
"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."
Of course, Morgan Tsvangirai and most of his MDC friends will never admit that they had given up on securing free and fair elections and contested the flawed and illegal elections for the sake of the give-away gravy train seats. Coltart must have agonized over making the admission in his book. Right up to voting day, MDC leaders maintain the 31st July 2013 elections would be free and fair.
Before ZEC had finished counting the vote, Tsvangirai address a press conference to complain of how "Zanu PF had stolen the elections!" Next, his party adopted a congress resolution not to contest in any future elections until the reforms are implemented and thus finally taking on board the SADC leaders' recommendation which Coltart have "obvious".
Although Tsvangirai and company will readily admit that not even one democratic reform was implemented since the rigged July 2013 elections they have, nonetheless, decided to contest next year's elections regardless. They are once again after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gives away to entice the opposition to participate. By participating the opposition are once again giving the "so flawed and so illegal process," credibility to use Coltart's phrase.
It took about 20 years for the people of Zimbabwe to accept the political reality that in Mugabe the nation had an incompetent, corrupt and murderous tyrant who did as he pleased without the usual constrains, checks and balance one expected from parliament and cabinet. Both parliament and cabinet was stuffed full of his subservient concubines. The tyrant has similarly charmed, bribed, bamboozled, etc. members of the opposition, they are now utterly useless.
After 17 years is politics, five of which in government, and yet Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends cannot name not even one democratic change they have brought. Indeed by stubbornly continuing to contest flawed and illegal elections they are now actively helping Zanu PF to stay in power by giving the flawed process modicum of credibility!
If we, the people of Zimbabwe, are serious about wanting and end to Zanu PF's corrupt and tyrannical rule then we must accept that Tsvangirai and his opposition friends have become utterly useless. They are vakadzi vaMugabe in the same way Dongo meant of Zanu PF MPs and cabinet ministers.
In our fight for free, fair and credible elections we must now accept the political reality that Tsvangirai and his opposition friends contesting flawed elections no longer represent the interest of the common people. The common people gain nothing from perpetuating a corrupt and oppressive political system and therefore we must play no part in such a process and will fight those who do, supposedly, in our name!
It did not take long after the formation of the GNU for Mugabe to extend his harem to Harvest House, MDC HQ. When it comes to MDC leaders bringing about meaningful democratic change, which is what the nation has risked life and limb to elect them into power to do, Tsvangirai and his MDC friends have proven to be utterly useless, they might just as well be vakadzi vaMugabe too!
The MDC leaders had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms proposed by SADC in the 2008 Global Political Agreement. The reforms were designed to stop Zanu PF rigging future elections and thus stop a repeat of the blatant vote rigging and wanton violence of 2008. MDC had five years to implement the reforms and yet failed to get not even one reform implemented. Not even one reform!
With no democratic reforms in place it was clear that Zanu PF would once again rig the vote and use violence to secure a landslide victory. How much violence the party used has always depended on how effective the vote rigging schemes happened to be. The enormous wealth coming from the looted diamonds has enable the regime to bankroll very elaborate and expensive vote rigging schemes. It was evident that with no reforms in place Zanu PF was going to rig the 2013 elections and SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to contest the elections until reforms are implemented.
"If you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done," SADC leaders warned the MDC leaders at the regional group summit in Maputo in June 2013, according to Dr Ibbo Mandaza who was there.
In fact, the signs that the elections were being rigged were there for anyone to see; SADC leaders saw the signs and so did the MDC leaders themselves. David Coltart confirmed in his recent book that MDC leaders had complained of why ZEC had allocated more voter registration centres in Mhondoro with a population of 100 000 than in Harare or Bulawayo each with a population of 2 million plus. The first is a rural area and thus a Zanu PF strong hold whilst the last two were urban and MDC strong holds.
ZEC had also, stubbornly refused to release the voters' roll a month before voting day, at the latest, as is required by law. Alarm bells the size of church-bell should have been ringing in MDC leaders' heads warning them against the folly of contesting elections Zanu PF was clearing set to rig!
So, we should make this crystal clear here; by contesting an electoral process knowing Zanu PF would rig the vote MDC leaders were not serving the people of Zimbabwe, who yearned for democratic changes to restore their freedoms and human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections.
Indeed, what these vakadzi vaMugabe in Harvest House were doing by contesting the flawed elections was give the process credibility, as David Coltart readily admitted.
"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 Coltart.
"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."
Of course, Morgan Tsvangirai and most of his MDC friends will never admit that they had given up on securing free and fair elections and contested the flawed and illegal elections for the sake of the give-away gravy train seats. Coltart must have agonized over making the admission in his book. Right up to voting day, MDC leaders maintain the 31st July 2013 elections would be free and fair.
Before ZEC had finished counting the vote, Tsvangirai address a press conference to complain of how "Zanu PF had stolen the elections!" Next, his party adopted a congress resolution not to contest in any future elections until the reforms are implemented and thus finally taking on board the SADC leaders' recommendation which Coltart have "obvious".
Although Tsvangirai and company will readily admit that not even one democratic reform was implemented since the rigged July 2013 elections they have, nonetheless, decided to contest next year's elections regardless. They are once again after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF gives away to entice the opposition to participate. By participating the opposition are once again giving the "so flawed and so illegal process," credibility to use Coltart's phrase.
It took about 20 years for the people of Zimbabwe to accept the political reality that in Mugabe the nation had an incompetent, corrupt and murderous tyrant who did as he pleased without the usual constrains, checks and balance one expected from parliament and cabinet. Both parliament and cabinet was stuffed full of his subservient concubines. The tyrant has similarly charmed, bribed, bamboozled, etc. members of the opposition, they are now utterly useless.
After 17 years is politics, five of which in government, and yet Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends cannot name not even one democratic change they have brought. Indeed by stubbornly continuing to contest flawed and illegal elections they are now actively helping Zanu PF to stay in power by giving the flawed process modicum of credibility!
If we, the people of Zimbabwe, are serious about wanting and end to Zanu PF's corrupt and tyrannical rule then we must accept that Tsvangirai and his opposition friends have become utterly useless. They are vakadzi vaMugabe in the same way Dongo meant of Zanu PF MPs and cabinet ministers.
In our fight for free, fair and credible elections we must now accept the political reality that Tsvangirai and his opposition friends contesting flawed elections no longer represent the interest of the common people. The common people gain nothing from perpetuating a corrupt and oppressive political system and therefore we must play no part in such a process and will fight those who do, supposedly, in our name!
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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