Opinion / Columnist
'EU welcomes invitation to observe 2023 election.' Yeah, for purposes of yet another academic report
29 Jun 2023 at 07:42hrs | Views
"The EU warmly welcomes the invitation from the Government of Zimbabwe to observe the harmonised elections of 2023 in Zimbabwe.
"This invitation clearly demonstrates the trust, cooperation, and partnership between Zimbabwe and the EU," said EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann, on twitter.
Yeah but send the Observer Team for what purpose and end? The EU send a high powered 246 strong team for the 2018 elections and their report was completely ignored.
"The right to an effective legal remedy was not adequately provided for, there is no equal suffrage and shortcomings in the registration of voters somewhat compromised universal and equal suffrage. Notably, major shortcomings in the pre-election environment impacted on the free expression of the will of electors, state resources were misused in favour of the incumbent and coverage by state media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling party," stated the 2018 EU Observer Mission final report.
"Further, the electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability.
"Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards."
The report made 23 reform recommendations and not even one of the reforms has been implemented. Both Zanu PF and the country's corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition camp, led by MDC/CCC, have completely ignored the report and its recommendations.
The opposition candidates were tripping over each other to submit their nomination papers last Wednesday 21st June 2023, knowing fully well that ZEC had not produced a verified voters' roll, something as basic as that. No doubt the EU observers will hear of endless stories of people will be denied the vote because their names have disappeared from the voters' roll, of multiple voting, etc. They will never verify any of these because the is no verified voters' roll!
The land of the land says there should be a verified voters' roll at least one calendar month before nomination day. Zimbabwe has never ever produced a verified voters' roll. Everyone including the ruling party and opposition leaders and the sanctimonious judge presiding over the nomination process knows there is no verified voters' roll.
It is not that the opposition leaders do not know that without implementing the reforms so that basic things like having a verified voters' roll Zimbabwe's elections are just a circus. They have know all that and they don't care the elections are not to international standard!
"The (2013) 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," confessed Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
There it is from the horse's own mouth; Zimbabwe will not implement reforms and thus hold free, fair and credible elections until the issue of opposition greed is addressed. The opposition will never ever do "the only logical" thing and stop participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy because of greed.
Of course, it is naive to expect Zanu PF to implement any democratic reforms know fully well that the party will never ever win free, fair and credible elections - not with its disastrous economic and political track record of the last 43 years. Zanu PF will never reform itself out of office.
And ever since the 2008 to 2013 GNU the party has learned that it can continue to rig elections and get away with it as long as the party allows the opposition to win a few gravy train seats to entice them and thus keep the multi-party facade. Mnangagwa has created POLAD to reward losing presidential candidate and thus ensure the opposition will participate in droves regardless how flawed and illegal the electoral process got!
"If Zimbabwe's election process is flawed and illegal, then why are all our opposition parties participating in droves!" Mnangagwa has often argued.
Of course he has a point, if Zimbabweans themselves do not mind that elections are going ahead without even something as basic as a verified voters' roll. What business is it of outsiders to object and judge the elections "are not to international standards"? Is Zimbabwe not entitle to set her own standards?
Zimbabwe has become the byword for corruption and criminal waste of human and material resources. As a failed state the country is failing to provide even the most basic needs of its people such as education, health care, clean running water, etc., etc. The ruling elite, including the opposition leaders who will secure their gravy train seats, are clearly happy with the situation but not so the masses at the coal face of what it means to live in a failed state.
The 49% and counting of Zimbabweans now living in abject poverty will not accept that Zimbabwe should set its own standard for social and economic justice and be condemned to poverty and hopelessness and despair. They will be equally foolish to accept that Zanu PF should be allowed to rig elections, with the connivance of CCC, and continue to deny them a meaning say in the governance of the country. Deny them the only hope of ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance the root cause Zimbabwe IS a failed state.
With not even one token reforms implemented since the rigged 2018 elections, it is as clear as day that Zanu PF is once again rigging these 2023 elections. What the ordinary Zimbabwean wants to see from the EU and all the election observers, regional as well as those from distant lands, it a concerted effort to end Zimbabwe's curse of rigged elections. We want two things from election observers:
judging these elections to the same international accepted election standards, the same three-foot yard stick and not some one-foot yard stick.
the observer reports must address the root causes why Zimbabwe has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections including the refusal by Zanu PF, with the active connivance of the MDC/CCC to implement even the most basic requirements for free, fair and credible elections. There will be no meaningful political change as long as the opposition continue to sell out running with the povo hare and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds.
To Ambassador Jobst von Kirchmann, please stop dealing with the opposition with kid gloves because it is their participation in these flawed elections that is keeping Zanu PF in power. We do not want yet another academic Election Observer Mission report complete with high sounding recommendations that will be ignored until next elections - that is not too much to ask!
"This invitation clearly demonstrates the trust, cooperation, and partnership between Zimbabwe and the EU," said EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann, on twitter.
Yeah but send the Observer Team for what purpose and end? The EU send a high powered 246 strong team for the 2018 elections and their report was completely ignored.
"The right to an effective legal remedy was not adequately provided for, there is no equal suffrage and shortcomings in the registration of voters somewhat compromised universal and equal suffrage. Notably, major shortcomings in the pre-election environment impacted on the free expression of the will of electors, state resources were misused in favour of the incumbent and coverage by state media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling party," stated the 2018 EU Observer Mission final report.
"Further, the electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability.
"Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards."
The report made 23 reform recommendations and not even one of the reforms has been implemented. Both Zanu PF and the country's corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition camp, led by MDC/CCC, have completely ignored the report and its recommendations.
The opposition candidates were tripping over each other to submit their nomination papers last Wednesday 21st June 2023, knowing fully well that ZEC had not produced a verified voters' roll, something as basic as that. No doubt the EU observers will hear of endless stories of people will be denied the vote because their names have disappeared from the voters' roll, of multiple voting, etc. They will never verify any of these because the is no verified voters' roll!
The land of the land says there should be a verified voters' roll at least one calendar month before nomination day. Zimbabwe has never ever produced a verified voters' roll. Everyone including the ruling party and opposition leaders and the sanctimonious judge presiding over the nomination process knows there is no verified voters' roll.
It is not that the opposition leaders do not know that without implementing the reforms so that basic things like having a verified voters' roll Zimbabwe's elections are just a circus. They have know all that and they don't care the elections are not to international standard!
"The (2013) 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," confessed Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
There it is from the horse's own mouth; Zimbabwe will not implement reforms and thus hold free, fair and credible elections until the issue of opposition greed is addressed. The opposition will never ever do "the only logical" thing and stop participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy because of greed.
Of course, it is naive to expect Zanu PF to implement any democratic reforms know fully well that the party will never ever win free, fair and credible elections - not with its disastrous economic and political track record of the last 43 years. Zanu PF will never reform itself out of office.
And ever since the 2008 to 2013 GNU the party has learned that it can continue to rig elections and get away with it as long as the party allows the opposition to win a few gravy train seats to entice them and thus keep the multi-party facade. Mnangagwa has created POLAD to reward losing presidential candidate and thus ensure the opposition will participate in droves regardless how flawed and illegal the electoral process got!
"If Zimbabwe's election process is flawed and illegal, then why are all our opposition parties participating in droves!" Mnangagwa has often argued.
Of course he has a point, if Zimbabweans themselves do not mind that elections are going ahead without even something as basic as a verified voters' roll. What business is it of outsiders to object and judge the elections "are not to international standards"? Is Zimbabwe not entitle to set her own standards?
Zimbabwe has become the byword for corruption and criminal waste of human and material resources. As a failed state the country is failing to provide even the most basic needs of its people such as education, health care, clean running water, etc., etc. The ruling elite, including the opposition leaders who will secure their gravy train seats, are clearly happy with the situation but not so the masses at the coal face of what it means to live in a failed state.
The 49% and counting of Zimbabweans now living in abject poverty will not accept that Zimbabwe should set its own standard for social and economic justice and be condemned to poverty and hopelessness and despair. They will be equally foolish to accept that Zanu PF should be allowed to rig elections, with the connivance of CCC, and continue to deny them a meaning say in the governance of the country. Deny them the only hope of ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance the root cause Zimbabwe IS a failed state.
With not even one token reforms implemented since the rigged 2018 elections, it is as clear as day that Zanu PF is once again rigging these 2023 elections. What the ordinary Zimbabwean wants to see from the EU and all the election observers, regional as well as those from distant lands, it a concerted effort to end Zimbabwe's curse of rigged elections. We want two things from election observers:
judging these elections to the same international accepted election standards, the same three-foot yard stick and not some one-foot yard stick.
the observer reports must address the root causes why Zimbabwe has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections including the refusal by Zanu PF, with the active connivance of the MDC/CCC to implement even the most basic requirements for free, fair and credible elections. There will be no meaningful political change as long as the opposition continue to sell out running with the povo hare and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds.
To Ambassador Jobst von Kirchmann, please stop dealing with the opposition with kid gloves because it is their participation in these flawed elections that is keeping Zanu PF in power. We do not want yet another academic Election Observer Mission report complete with high sounding recommendations that will be ignored until next elections - that is not too much to ask!
Source - zimbabwelight.blogspot.com
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