Opinion / Columnist
Give the MDC Concort Challenge a chance
09 Apr 2023 at 04:07hrs | Views
There have been various reactions to the Movement for Democratic Change led by Senator Douglas Mwonzora in which the party is challenging the delimitation report produced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and gazetted by President Mnangagwa. The MDC says they have done so to lay the ground for credible elections.
Some commentators have said the MDC is trying to avoid elections, with some going further to say that the move is a collaborative effort by the MDC and Zanu PF to postpone elections indefinitely and create a Government of National Unity (GNU). Some have said the challenge will not produce the desired results because according to the constitution of Zimbabwe, elections will proceed using the boundaries that were used in the previous election.
My view is that they can never be a GNU called after a full term of government. The Constitution clearly stipulates that elections are to be held every five years. Remember, the only GNU that the country has had was after a disputed election and was a make-shift arrangement made to avoid starting a new election after the evil Zanu PF had murdered hundreds of Movement of Democratic Change activists across the country and instilled fear to the extent that not many Movement for Democratic Change activists and supporters were unlikely to participate in a fresh election. It was unfair the Movement for Democratic Change was robbed of its clear victory, with current Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa unashamedly claiming credit for it. That was an evil act by Mnangagwa, which contributes to the bad state Zimbabwe finds herself in today.
If there are some real issues in the delimitation report as viewed by the Movement for Democratic Change, and the full bench of the Constitutional Court finds merit in the arguments and nullifies the report, there should be two options. None of the options will include the formation of a GNU.
The first option, in my view, would be to rectify the errors in the report as identified by the Movement for Democratic Change and other players who have noticed irregularities. I would call on all other players who have identified errors to join hands and work with the Zimbabwe Elections Commission to get those errors rectified. The exercise should not take more than a month as preliminary work had already been done. That way, elections may be delayed by a month or two, but will still be held this year.
The other argument I have heard is that constitutionally if the delimitation report is not acceptable, the boundaries used in the previous election will apply. This may sound bad as there have been a lot of population changes since the last delimitation was carried out, but if the constitution stipulates so, and it may take too long to correct the delimitation report that is being challenged, we cannot go beyond 2023 without holding elections, so the constitutional provision that the previous boundaries be used should apply. This is a better way in my view than the dream of a GNU.
Whichever way, elections must be held and the people of Zimbabwe granted the opportunity to vote the corrupt Zanu PF out of power. Unlike during the 2018 elections where some people believed in President Mnangagwa's new dispensation claim, the five years have proved that he is a lair. Despite his claim to fight corruption, we have continued to see criminals who stole public funds being cleared by the compromised courts. We have seen the first family involved in corrupt deals, and even people caught red-handed smuggling out gold being cleared by the compromised courts because of their relationship with the first family.
And to the MDC and its President Douglas Mwonzora, I applaud you for challenging the delimitation report to share facts that will expose the regime and the compromised Zimbabwe Elections Commission. However, the regime has other ways of rigging, and it requires unity of purpose within the opposition to make it easy to disable the rigging machinery. Please reconsider your relationship with other opposition parties, including the Citizens Coalition for Change, and pull resources together to dislodge Zanu PF.
Some commentators have said the MDC is trying to avoid elections, with some going further to say that the move is a collaborative effort by the MDC and Zanu PF to postpone elections indefinitely and create a Government of National Unity (GNU). Some have said the challenge will not produce the desired results because according to the constitution of Zimbabwe, elections will proceed using the boundaries that were used in the previous election.
My view is that they can never be a GNU called after a full term of government. The Constitution clearly stipulates that elections are to be held every five years. Remember, the only GNU that the country has had was after a disputed election and was a make-shift arrangement made to avoid starting a new election after the evil Zanu PF had murdered hundreds of Movement of Democratic Change activists across the country and instilled fear to the extent that not many Movement for Democratic Change activists and supporters were unlikely to participate in a fresh election. It was unfair the Movement for Democratic Change was robbed of its clear victory, with current Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa unashamedly claiming credit for it. That was an evil act by Mnangagwa, which contributes to the bad state Zimbabwe finds herself in today.
If there are some real issues in the delimitation report as viewed by the Movement for Democratic Change, and the full bench of the Constitutional Court finds merit in the arguments and nullifies the report, there should be two options. None of the options will include the formation of a GNU.
The first option, in my view, would be to rectify the errors in the report as identified by the Movement for Democratic Change and other players who have noticed irregularities. I would call on all other players who have identified errors to join hands and work with the Zimbabwe Elections Commission to get those errors rectified. The exercise should not take more than a month as preliminary work had already been done. That way, elections may be delayed by a month or two, but will still be held this year.
The other argument I have heard is that constitutionally if the delimitation report is not acceptable, the boundaries used in the previous election will apply. This may sound bad as there have been a lot of population changes since the last delimitation was carried out, but if the constitution stipulates so, and it may take too long to correct the delimitation report that is being challenged, we cannot go beyond 2023 without holding elections, so the constitutional provision that the previous boundaries be used should apply. This is a better way in my view than the dream of a GNU.
Whichever way, elections must be held and the people of Zimbabwe granted the opportunity to vote the corrupt Zanu PF out of power. Unlike during the 2018 elections where some people believed in President Mnangagwa's new dispensation claim, the five years have proved that he is a lair. Despite his claim to fight corruption, we have continued to see criminals who stole public funds being cleared by the compromised courts. We have seen the first family involved in corrupt deals, and even people caught red-handed smuggling out gold being cleared by the compromised courts because of their relationship with the first family.
And to the MDC and its President Douglas Mwonzora, I applaud you for challenging the delimitation report to share facts that will expose the regime and the compromised Zimbabwe Elections Commission. However, the regime has other ways of rigging, and it requires unity of purpose within the opposition to make it easy to disable the rigging machinery. Please reconsider your relationship with other opposition parties, including the Citizens Coalition for Change, and pull resources together to dislodge Zanu PF.
Source - Kennedy Kaitano
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