Latest News Editor's Choice


Opinion / Columnist

Mwonzora to be 'biggest opposition by 2023' - and perpetuate rigged elections, deplorable lack of imagination

12 Jan 2021 at 14:17hrs | Views
The trouble with Zimbabweans is they have no clue what constitutes a competent leader and it is little wonder the nation has blundered from pillar to post, the blind leading the blind into the ditch.

It therefore is no surprise that some Zimbabweans are already seeing Douglas Mwonzora, the recently elected MDC-T leader, as the man who could lead the nation.

"What l would like to state clearly and as background knowledge is that the powers of the opposition have been going down since 2008 when MDC got 110 seats in parliament, then 2013 got 60 and then 2018 they got around 40 and if the probability that we learnt at school is to be applied it means the opposition is likely to get 30+/- seats in 2023 unless there comes a third political party," wrote Kumbirai Chivhuna in Bulawayo 24.

"The second thing is that Zanu learnt a big lesson in 2008 with Mugabe clearly telling the politburo Kuti kukurukura hunge wapotswa and from there they made sure that they win the first round election and no room for rerun or runoff.

"Then thirdly Zanu-PF has monetized politics to an extent that whoever has the money will have more than 50% odds in favour of him before the campaign starts."

Any one who does not understand what the 2008 GNU was about is not ill qualified to propose a way forward for Zimbabwe. Chivhuna has no clue what the GNU was about.

The first thing Mugabe and his Zanu-PF thugs learned from the 2008 to 2013 GNU was that MDC leaders are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent. There is no deny that Mugabe bribed them to forget about implementing the reforms and not even the repeated nagging by SADC leaders to implement the reforms could get MDC leaders to do it.

The second thing they learned was that they can keep their dictatorial powers including the powers to blatantly rig elections, as long as they bribe MDC to participate in elections no matter how flawed and illegal the process.  

So Zanu-PF has rigged the elections to secure the presidency plus the 2/3 or so parliamentary majority. The party has then used the remaining 1/3 of the gravy train seats as bait to entice the opposition to participate in elections regardless how flawed and illegal process got!

Douglas Mwonzora is a long standing senior MDC leader and he was in the 2008 to 2013 GNU that failed to implement even one reform.

Mwonzora participated in the 2013 and 2018 elections without any reservations.

MDC-T is going to receive $ 13.6 million, its share of the $100 million 2021 national budget allocation from the Political Party Finance Act (PPFA). And as the party's new leader Douglas Mwonzora will get 20% or $2.72 million.

One can ever talk the likes of Mwonzora to demand the implementation of reforms and boycott elections to pressure Zanu-PF to implement reform is naive. Mwonzora and company will never risk losing the MP and Senator salary and allowances, the PPFA payout and the other benefits Zanu-PF is offering.

"l would say that Mwonzora stands a big chance become the biggest opposition by 2023 if he plays well but with regards to winning the presidential election that's far fetched coz Zanu has solidified maybe for 2028," argued Kumbirai.

Participating in the 2023 elections with no reforms will only serve to perpetuate the Zanu-PF dictatorship, the very thing the nation is desperate to end. Of course, it is foolish to seen stagnation as progress!

Anyone suggesting the MDC idiots who have already proven to be corrupt and incompetent are fit to hold any public office much less the highest office in the land suffers a deplorable lack of imagination!

After 40 years of rigged elections, the root cause why we are stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu-PF dictatorship, Zimbabwe is going to implement the democratic reforms and finally hold free, fair and credible elections.

If Zanu-PF and its cohort opposition opportunists do not implement the reforms, then the 2023 elections must be declared null void.

We live in any age where other nations are exploring the mysteries of deep space, splitting the atom, have developed corona virus vaccine in record time and done a host of other mind-boggling exploits. And we are failing to define what constitutes free, fair and credible elections and implement for our own benefit and that of posterity!

Zimbabwe's next elections MUST be free, fair and credible; that is not negotiable!

Source - zsdemocrats.blogspot.com
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.