Opinion / Columnist
Revealed: The electoral conspiracy and how YOU can stop it
27 Jul 2018 at 11:22hrs | Views
In recent weeks there has been lots of talk of conspiracies affecting our upcoming election. And while I am far from a believer in conspiracy theories, there is one conspiracy going on that is unmissable. It is a conspiracy of lies, of deceit and of fake news. It is a conspiracy of interests – politicians, media and powerful foreigners - who are determined to get their way no matter the costs. And it is a conspiracy that if allowed to succeed, has the potential to ruin our new Zimbabwe.
But surprisingly, it is a conspiracy you won't have heard about. Because that is the way the plotters want it to be.
The plan is straightforward enough. To discredit ED, the new dispensation and the elections enough, so that global powers have no choice but to intercede in the election, ignoring the will of the people.
To illustrate this conspiracy, let's just take three examples from the past week. There are of course, dozens more we could have chosen.
First was Nelson Chamisa's claim that Morgan Tsvangirai did not die of cancer, but rather was murdered by the state. Ignoring any semblance of facts or truth, Chamisa has concocted a story that is not only outrageously insensitive to Tsvangirai's family, but also is patently untrue. The entire nation, who witnessed Tsvangirai's sad decline over time, can attest to the fact that this was a gradual decline caused by illness.
But facts are irrelevant to Chamisa, only power. If inventing a disgusting lie about his predecessor (and supposedly mentor) will help bring him closer to power, then that is what he will do.
Second was the outlandish headline in NewsDay on Wednesday, which read "We'll arrest Chamisa: ED". A pretty shocking title I am sure you would agree.
The problem is that not only did ED not say that, but he didn't even say anything close to that.
What ED actually said was, "We signed a pledge for peace ahead of elections. All 55 parties taking part in the elections signed, but to my surprise, some little boy and a small party turns around to say he wants to shut down Harare. I heard that he changed his heart and said he wanted peace and if he does that, we welcome him. He is our son, we allow him to traverse throughout the country asking for your vote, but if he chooses chaos, law and order will prevail."
A pretty reasonable statement and one we can all sympathise with. But reasonable doesn't suit the conspirators' needs. They need ED to be unreasonable. To have murdered Tsvangirai. And to arrest Chamisa. Only then will the world take action. And if they need to tell the most hideous lies to make this happen, then so be it.
But worse was still to come. On Thursday night, rumours began to emerge from the MDC's backers in the US that a plane was arriving in with millions of fake ballot papers. Some said it was coming from Russia, others from Georgia, but they were sure it was coming. They shouted, they tweeted, they got the attention of the observers.
But the problem is there was no plane. Or rather, there were two planes. But on closer inspection one has been in grounded in Kyrgyzstan for the past two weeks and has never been anywhere near Zimbabwe, while the other one turned out to be heading for Johannesburg for the BRICS Summit. So there was no plane and no fake ballot papers.
Did they apologise or accept their mistake? Of course not. They had done their damage, they had achieved their goals. By the time the whole thing was discovered to be a big lie, it was already too late!
Unfortunately, despite the ridiculous nature of this conspiracy, it may well work. Under pressure from the conspirators and MDC paymasters, the US Congress has announced it will extend sanctions on Zimbabwe in order to pressure us into voting the way they want - for the MDC.
But irrespective of their power, the people's power is bigger. We can defeat their conspiracy by rejecting their will and voting for ED. This is the only way to assert our autonomy and to say no to their lies.
On July 30th the conspirators want Chamisa in power. Only we can stop them.
But surprisingly, it is a conspiracy you won't have heard about. Because that is the way the plotters want it to be.
The plan is straightforward enough. To discredit ED, the new dispensation and the elections enough, so that global powers have no choice but to intercede in the election, ignoring the will of the people.
To illustrate this conspiracy, let's just take three examples from the past week. There are of course, dozens more we could have chosen.
First was Nelson Chamisa's claim that Morgan Tsvangirai did not die of cancer, but rather was murdered by the state. Ignoring any semblance of facts or truth, Chamisa has concocted a story that is not only outrageously insensitive to Tsvangirai's family, but also is patently untrue. The entire nation, who witnessed Tsvangirai's sad decline over time, can attest to the fact that this was a gradual decline caused by illness.
But facts are irrelevant to Chamisa, only power. If inventing a disgusting lie about his predecessor (and supposedly mentor) will help bring him closer to power, then that is what he will do.
Second was the outlandish headline in NewsDay on Wednesday, which read "We'll arrest Chamisa: ED". A pretty shocking title I am sure you would agree.
The problem is that not only did ED not say that, but he didn't even say anything close to that.
What ED actually said was, "We signed a pledge for peace ahead of elections. All 55 parties taking part in the elections signed, but to my surprise, some little boy and a small party turns around to say he wants to shut down Harare. I heard that he changed his heart and said he wanted peace and if he does that, we welcome him. He is our son, we allow him to traverse throughout the country asking for your vote, but if he chooses chaos, law and order will prevail."
A pretty reasonable statement and one we can all sympathise with. But reasonable doesn't suit the conspirators' needs. They need ED to be unreasonable. To have murdered Tsvangirai. And to arrest Chamisa. Only then will the world take action. And if they need to tell the most hideous lies to make this happen, then so be it.
But worse was still to come. On Thursday night, rumours began to emerge from the MDC's backers in the US that a plane was arriving in with millions of fake ballot papers. Some said it was coming from Russia, others from Georgia, but they were sure it was coming. They shouted, they tweeted, they got the attention of the observers.
But the problem is there was no plane. Or rather, there were two planes. But on closer inspection one has been in grounded in Kyrgyzstan for the past two weeks and has never been anywhere near Zimbabwe, while the other one turned out to be heading for Johannesburg for the BRICS Summit. So there was no plane and no fake ballot papers.
Did they apologise or accept their mistake? Of course not. They had done their damage, they had achieved their goals. By the time the whole thing was discovered to be a big lie, it was already too late!
Unfortunately, despite the ridiculous nature of this conspiracy, it may well work. Under pressure from the conspirators and MDC paymasters, the US Congress has announced it will extend sanctions on Zimbabwe in order to pressure us into voting the way they want - for the MDC.
But irrespective of their power, the people's power is bigger. We can defeat their conspiracy by rejecting their will and voting for ED. This is the only way to assert our autonomy and to say no to their lies.
On July 30th the conspirators want Chamisa in power. Only we can stop them.
Source - Mike Tawanda
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