Opinion / Columnist
ZANU-PF is a virus which can never be cured by elections
18 Oct 2020 at 06:41hrs | Views
Elections have become a problem that has sunk us into vicious violence, unreformed state institutions, political and economic strife. It is my desire to enlighten those that still believe in the politics of the ballot paper, that the system called Zanu-PF is a virus that cannot be cured by elections. Zimbabweans by now should know that voting or not voting Zanu-PF will still find its way back to Munhumutapa building echoing the recent statement by Vice President Kembo Mohadi who said "the junta regime is not going anywhere anytime soon". Zanu-PF has mastered the art of manipulating the ballot in its favor for the past 15 years. In 2008 Morgan Tsvangirayi won the ballot while in 2013 the late former Premier won again and on top of that his predecessor the charismatic preacher and lawyer Nelson Chamisa also won the ballot without doubt in 2018 but both charming leaders failed to step into the iconic State House.
In 2008 the late Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidential elections with more than 70%. The MDC also managed to bang the majority of the seats in both the Senate and Parliament chambers while at local council it was the same story, MDC took control of almost every council country wide notably in all the towns MDC was in control from Mutare to Harare, but with all that in hand Morgan Tsvangirai failed to grab the keys to the state house as that place had become a no go area because of the existence of the late Robert Mugabe. The late Army General Vitalis Zvinavashe had once said "the highest office in the land was a strait jacket" and the events which followed the 2008 presidential elections were totally fulfillments of the late Army Generals words.
Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party essentially lost at the ballot box, and remained in power only by pursuing a campaign of political violence that caused his main presidential challenger to withdraw from the runoff vote. Moreover, amid international pressure and economic collapse, he was forced to accept a power-sharing agreement. But in 2013 Mugabe was able to engineer a win that did not trigger the same international criticism. Both the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) deemed the July 31 elections to be "generally" credible, finding that any irregularities would not have changed the outcome a supermajority in Parliament for ZANU-PF and an overwhelming presidential victory for Mugabe. But free and fair elections do not appear to apply in Zimbabwe at all. In 2018 President Emmerson Mnangagwa a former Mugabe lieutenant who grabbed power in a November 2017 coup won with 50.8 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff election. And his ruling ZANU-PF party won a two-thirds majority of 149 seats in parliament's lower house, permitting it to amend the constitution at will. But those results were disputed again
The security forces have for many years interfered in the nation's political and electoral affairs, adversely affecting the right of Zimbabweans to vote for the candidates of their choice. Mnangagwa and his administration should level the electoral playing field by preventing the military from engaging in partisan politics or interfering in electoral processes, and taking strong action to deter violence and intimidation by the military during the campaign period and elections. The military leadership should publicly demonstrate its commitment to a fair election process and not interfere with the outcome of the vote.
However without doubt Zanu-PF has managed to capture the Judiciary, ZEC, Police, Army and even the church. Zimbabwe has indigenous churches which always endorse anything that comes from the mouth of Zanu-PF and a good example of such religious leaders is Nehemiah Mutendi. The ZEC is the most compromised election body in the region, at one point the election body took almost a month to release the presidential election results, the body is just too compromised that without proper electoral reforms, Zimbabweans will never taste a free, fair and democratic election. Zimbabwe's political climate is just too compromised in favor of Zanu-PF.
Knowledgehakata can be contacted on waterlessprings@gmail.com/+27610014147
In 2008 the late Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidential elections with more than 70%. The MDC also managed to bang the majority of the seats in both the Senate and Parliament chambers while at local council it was the same story, MDC took control of almost every council country wide notably in all the towns MDC was in control from Mutare to Harare, but with all that in hand Morgan Tsvangirai failed to grab the keys to the state house as that place had become a no go area because of the existence of the late Robert Mugabe. The late Army General Vitalis Zvinavashe had once said "the highest office in the land was a strait jacket" and the events which followed the 2008 presidential elections were totally fulfillments of the late Army Generals words.
Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party essentially lost at the ballot box, and remained in power only by pursuing a campaign of political violence that caused his main presidential challenger to withdraw from the runoff vote. Moreover, amid international pressure and economic collapse, he was forced to accept a power-sharing agreement. But in 2013 Mugabe was able to engineer a win that did not trigger the same international criticism. Both the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) deemed the July 31 elections to be "generally" credible, finding that any irregularities would not have changed the outcome a supermajority in Parliament for ZANU-PF and an overwhelming presidential victory for Mugabe. But free and fair elections do not appear to apply in Zimbabwe at all. In 2018 President Emmerson Mnangagwa a former Mugabe lieutenant who grabbed power in a November 2017 coup won with 50.8 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff election. And his ruling ZANU-PF party won a two-thirds majority of 149 seats in parliament's lower house, permitting it to amend the constitution at will. But those results were disputed again
The security forces have for many years interfered in the nation's political and electoral affairs, adversely affecting the right of Zimbabweans to vote for the candidates of their choice. Mnangagwa and his administration should level the electoral playing field by preventing the military from engaging in partisan politics or interfering in electoral processes, and taking strong action to deter violence and intimidation by the military during the campaign period and elections. The military leadership should publicly demonstrate its commitment to a fair election process and not interfere with the outcome of the vote.
However without doubt Zanu-PF has managed to capture the Judiciary, ZEC, Police, Army and even the church. Zimbabwe has indigenous churches which always endorse anything that comes from the mouth of Zanu-PF and a good example of such religious leaders is Nehemiah Mutendi. The ZEC is the most compromised election body in the region, at one point the election body took almost a month to release the presidential election results, the body is just too compromised that without proper electoral reforms, Zimbabweans will never taste a free, fair and democratic election. Zimbabwe's political climate is just too compromised in favor of Zanu-PF.
Knowledgehakata can be contacted on waterlessprings@gmail.com/+27610014147
Source - Knowledge Hakata
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