Opinion / Columnist
'MDC A #OneMillionCampaign will fight rural voter apathy' - biggest impediment to free elections, MDC sell-outs
17 Nov 2020 at 08:47hrs | Views
"Mdc Alliance Namibia greatly appreciates and admires the historic innovation since the inception of the political behemoth to invade rural constituencies in preparation of the harmonised elections in 2023," said MDC A Namibia District statement in support of party youths to target one million new rural voters in the #OneMillionCompaign.
"As a district, we are committed and dedicated to meaningfully contribute towards this noble cause since our Youths are the most vulnerable victims of Zanupf's gross misgovernance. We applaud our Youth Assembly led by Chairperson commander Obey Tererai Sithole and his vibrant team for the initiative to fight vote apathy especially from our youths who treat themselves as second class citizens."
The rural people are the poorest of the poor in Zimbabwe and, given Zanu PF is responsible for the country's economic meltdown, one would expect the opposition to have no problems getting support from the rural voters. The exact opposition is in fact the case.
Zanu PF coercive tactics of using state assistance to buy votes backed by the use of brute force has reduced the rural voters into nothing but medieval serfs beholden to the overbearing landlords.
Before the 2018 elections Mnangagwa bought each and everyone of the country's traditional chiefs a twin cab truck; at a time when many district hospitals did not have a working ambulance service, for example. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Chief's Council, publicly proclaimed that all the chiefs will be campaigning for Zanu PF in the coming elections.
The Chiefs together with the Zanu PF operatives have harassed the rural voters forcing them to attend Zanu PF rallies and to vote for the party. This is normal practice in Zimbabwe.
Zanu PF's 2/3 majority in parliament is from rural votes from the medieval serfs!
The prospect of holding the 2023 elections with no meaningful democratic reforms implemented is nauseating. The country must implement the democratic reforms to ensure Chief Charumbira and his fellow chiefs are forced to honour their constitutional obligations to be apolitical. The practice of politicising state aid must be stamped out.
It is not that the MDC leaders and their supporters do not know that of Zanu PF's use of Chiefs and other blatant vote rigging political shenanigans; they do. They also know that Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut is more ruthless in the rural areas than in the urban areas hence the reason the urban centres have remain opposition strongholds.
To give the impression Zimbabwean elections are a free, fair and credible multi-party elections Zanu PF has allowed the opposition to win a few gravy train seats, bait to entice them to participate in the flawed elections. What is worth noting here, that the opposition politicians were well aware this is a honey pot trap; one they found irresistible!
In his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe, David Coltart, MDC A Senator and Treasurer General, former MDC – Ncube Senator and Minister of Education in the 2008 GNU, gave details of how Zanu PF was flouting the electoral rules in the upcoming 2013 elections. It was clear the elections would not be free, fair and credible and yet MDC leaders participated in the elections.
"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," wrote 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."
Participating in the flawed elections not only gave the process credibility but also gave the vote rigging, per se, illegitimate Zanu PF regime some modicum of legitimacy.
After the 2013 elections, MDC-T resolved at its next party congress not to participate in future elections until reform are implemented. "No reform! No elections!" All the other MDC factions endorsed the resolution.
As the 2018 elections draw near, the smell of honey was in the air, the "No reform! No election!" resolution was abandoned without even by your leave. A number of the MDC factions did form the MDC Alliance coalition to better their chance of winning the bait seats; boycotting elections was the last thing on their minds.
After the 2018 elections, MDC A has complained of Zanu PF stealing the elections, at least the presidential race, and has once again called for "implementation of comprehensive democratic reforms" BEFORE the 2023 elections.
As the 2023 elections approach, the smell of the honey will once again become irresistible, MDC A will participate in the elections with not even token reforms implemented. The campaign to recruit one million rural party supporters will just be one excuse for participating with no reforms implemented.
Without implementing the democratic reforms the rural voters will remain a medieval serfs beholden to the overbearing traditional Chiefs and other Zanu PF operatives. The 2023 elections must be free, fair and credible in which everyone, including rural voters, exercise their right to a meaningful vote fear or coercion.
"MDC A #OneMillionCompaign will fight rural voter apathy and treat themselves as second class citizens!" It is down right foolish to expect the rural voters who have been reduced into medieval serfs to vote freely especially it is none other than the MDC A that has repeatedly failed to implement the democratic reforms to end their bondage!
MDC A is gearing to participate in the 2023 with no reforms implemented; all talk of implementing reforms is the usual hot air. Whilst we cannot stop them, we can see to it no one is left in any doubt MDC A are doing this out of greed. Mnangagwa will never implement any reforms because he knows MDC will participate regardless, they opposition cannot resist the few gravy train seats bait, the honey pot trap.
During the 2008 to 2013 Zanu PF leaders learnt that the party will not have to implement any democratic reforms as long as it can bribe the MDC leaders to participate in flawed and illegal elections. Ever since, MDC has been running with povo hare, paying lip service to reforms, whilst hunting with the Zanu PF hounds, giving legitimacy to rigged elections.
The whole world must know that MDC A and all the opposition parties who participate in Zimbabwe's flawed and illegal elections have no politically credibility. None!
A discredited opposition cannot give credibility to the flawed and illegal election process. A discredited election process cannot give the vote rigging per se illegitimate Zanu PF regime even token legitimacy! Without reforms the 2023 elections will be null and void and, this time, Zanu PF's illegitimacy will be beyond dispute!
What Zimbabwe needs to reset its failed political system is to implement the reforms and hold free, fair and credible elections. Ever since the 2008 GNU the greatest impediment to implementing the reforms is not Zanu PF thugs but MDC sell-outs. Stop MDC conniving with Zanu PF and the latter will have nowhere to hide and the nation will finally have the reforms implemented.
"As a district, we are committed and dedicated to meaningfully contribute towards this noble cause since our Youths are the most vulnerable victims of Zanupf's gross misgovernance. We applaud our Youth Assembly led by Chairperson commander Obey Tererai Sithole and his vibrant team for the initiative to fight vote apathy especially from our youths who treat themselves as second class citizens."
The rural people are the poorest of the poor in Zimbabwe and, given Zanu PF is responsible for the country's economic meltdown, one would expect the opposition to have no problems getting support from the rural voters. The exact opposition is in fact the case.
Zanu PF coercive tactics of using state assistance to buy votes backed by the use of brute force has reduced the rural voters into nothing but medieval serfs beholden to the overbearing landlords.
Before the 2018 elections Mnangagwa bought each and everyone of the country's traditional chiefs a twin cab truck; at a time when many district hospitals did not have a working ambulance service, for example. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Chief's Council, publicly proclaimed that all the chiefs will be campaigning for Zanu PF in the coming elections.
The Chiefs together with the Zanu PF operatives have harassed the rural voters forcing them to attend Zanu PF rallies and to vote for the party. This is normal practice in Zimbabwe.
Zanu PF's 2/3 majority in parliament is from rural votes from the medieval serfs!
The prospect of holding the 2023 elections with no meaningful democratic reforms implemented is nauseating. The country must implement the democratic reforms to ensure Chief Charumbira and his fellow chiefs are forced to honour their constitutional obligations to be apolitical. The practice of politicising state aid must be stamped out.
It is not that the MDC leaders and their supporters do not know that of Zanu PF's use of Chiefs and other blatant vote rigging political shenanigans; they do. They also know that Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut is more ruthless in the rural areas than in the urban areas hence the reason the urban centres have remain opposition strongholds.
To give the impression Zimbabwean elections are a free, fair and credible multi-party elections Zanu PF has allowed the opposition to win a few gravy train seats, bait to entice them to participate in the flawed elections. What is worth noting here, that the opposition politicians were well aware this is a honey pot trap; one they found irresistible!
In his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe, David Coltart, MDC A Senator and Treasurer General, former MDC – Ncube Senator and Minister of Education in the 2008 GNU, gave details of how Zanu PF was flouting the electoral rules in the upcoming 2013 elections. It was clear the elections would not be free, fair and credible and yet MDC leaders participated in the elections.
"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," wrote 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."
Participating in the flawed elections not only gave the process credibility but also gave the vote rigging, per se, illegitimate Zanu PF regime some modicum of legitimacy.
After the 2013 elections, MDC-T resolved at its next party congress not to participate in future elections until reform are implemented. "No reform! No elections!" All the other MDC factions endorsed the resolution.
As the 2018 elections draw near, the smell of honey was in the air, the "No reform! No election!" resolution was abandoned without even by your leave. A number of the MDC factions did form the MDC Alliance coalition to better their chance of winning the bait seats; boycotting elections was the last thing on their minds.
After the 2018 elections, MDC A has complained of Zanu PF stealing the elections, at least the presidential race, and has once again called for "implementation of comprehensive democratic reforms" BEFORE the 2023 elections.
As the 2023 elections approach, the smell of the honey will once again become irresistible, MDC A will participate in the elections with not even token reforms implemented. The campaign to recruit one million rural party supporters will just be one excuse for participating with no reforms implemented.
Without implementing the democratic reforms the rural voters will remain a medieval serfs beholden to the overbearing traditional Chiefs and other Zanu PF operatives. The 2023 elections must be free, fair and credible in which everyone, including rural voters, exercise their right to a meaningful vote fear or coercion.
"MDC A #OneMillionCompaign will fight rural voter apathy and treat themselves as second class citizens!" It is down right foolish to expect the rural voters who have been reduced into medieval serfs to vote freely especially it is none other than the MDC A that has repeatedly failed to implement the democratic reforms to end their bondage!
MDC A is gearing to participate in the 2023 with no reforms implemented; all talk of implementing reforms is the usual hot air. Whilst we cannot stop them, we can see to it no one is left in any doubt MDC A are doing this out of greed. Mnangagwa will never implement any reforms because he knows MDC will participate regardless, they opposition cannot resist the few gravy train seats bait, the honey pot trap.
During the 2008 to 2013 Zanu PF leaders learnt that the party will not have to implement any democratic reforms as long as it can bribe the MDC leaders to participate in flawed and illegal elections. Ever since, MDC has been running with povo hare, paying lip service to reforms, whilst hunting with the Zanu PF hounds, giving legitimacy to rigged elections.
The whole world must know that MDC A and all the opposition parties who participate in Zimbabwe's flawed and illegal elections have no politically credibility. None!
A discredited opposition cannot give credibility to the flawed and illegal election process. A discredited election process cannot give the vote rigging per se illegitimate Zanu PF regime even token legitimacy! Without reforms the 2023 elections will be null and void and, this time, Zanu PF's illegitimacy will be beyond dispute!
What Zimbabwe needs to reset its failed political system is to implement the reforms and hold free, fair and credible elections. Ever since the 2008 GNU the greatest impediment to implementing the reforms is not Zanu PF thugs but MDC sell-outs. Stop MDC conniving with Zanu PF and the latter will have nowhere to hide and the nation will finally have the reforms implemented.
Source - zimbabwelight.blogspot.com
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