2023 elections are free 'Musoro wambuya vako!' said irritated Mnangagwa. He's rigging and fears the consequences!

We are one of the most peaceful countries on the continent," Mnangagwa told Miners4ED members in Gweru.

"We are a peaceful country, we are united and we are democratic. Not even a single (foreign) country can teach us about democracy because we know it and we fought for it."

He said Zimbabwe was a sovereign country and foreigners should not interfere with its internal affairs. "Musoro yambuya vako!" (Your grand mother's big head!) he could not resist adding the gratuitous insult.

The truth is Zimbabwe is no more democratic than the Democratic Republic of North Korea.

Zanu PF nationalist leaders said they were fighting to end white colonial oppression and exploitation, for freedom, liberty, one man one vote, etc., etc. The black majority in the country agreed and they played their part. But by the time the nation held the 1980 elections to usher in independence it was clear Zanu PF had been fighting to remove the white oppressors but only to take their place.

Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies made it clear that if the party did not win the 1980 elections, the bush war would continue. Of course, the people voted to end the war and thus kissed goodbye to "one man one vote!"

Three years after the country's independence Mugabe launched the Gukurahundi Massacre whose primary purpose was to force the now late Dr Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu to sign the Unity Accord with Zanu PF paving the way for the imposition of the de facto one-party dictatorship that has ruled the country to this day.

Zanu PF is rigging these 2023 elections just as it rigged the 2018 and the rest going all the way back 1980. The EU send a high powered 246 strong 2018 Election Observer Mission team. And the reported what the witnessed on the ground, unlike the SADC team, for example, who chose to falsify the situation to appease Zanu PF.

"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 EU Observer Mission final report made 23 reform recommendation to bring Zimbabwe elections to accepted international standards. Not even one token reform was implemented. Not a sausage!

The EU has accepted the invitation to send an Election Observer team for these 2023 elections. With not even one reform recommendation in place, it is certain the team will condemn these elections as farce too. Mnangagwa knows that and hence his irrational irritation "Musoro yambuya vako!" He knows what is coming and has to throw his pre-emptive punch!

What Mnangagwa is saying is he accepts all the rules and standards governing the holding of free, fair and credible elections as long as Zanu PF, as the political party that spearheaded the liberation war, is allowed to do whatever the party considers necessary to retain power. In other words Zimbabweans are allowed to exercise their freedoms and rights including the right to a free and democratic vote as long as none of it threatens Zanu PF's hold on power.

According to Mnangagwa Zimbabweans can exercise their right to free, fair and credible elections as long as that does not result in regime change. Of course, this is nonsense; " a meaningful say in the governance of one's country", according to the UN Universal Human Rights Declaration, included regime change.

After 43 years of being short changed it is high time the people of Zimbabwe stood firm in their demand for full implementation of the democratic reforms, to guarantee free, fair and credible elections. We cannot stop these flawed 2023 elections going ahead, both Zanu PF and CCC are hell bent on participating for their own selfish reasons.

What we can do is denounce the election process for being flawed and illegal. SADC will use our silence as an excuse to endorse the process as "substantially free and fair" and grant Zanu PF political legitimacy. Zimbabwe is a failed state precisely because the nation has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for 43 years. We could not have regime change because Zanu PF rigged elections.

We desperately need to cure ourselves of this curse of rigged elections and bad governance. Making sure that Zanu PF does not get legitimacy after 23 August 2023 elections is the first step to curing ourselves of rigged elections and failed state.