Opinion / Columnist
All MDC factions boycott by-elections supposedly to demand reforms but in reality because they are broke
03 Feb 2015 at 01:57hrs | Views
The nomination court for those wishing to contest the two by-elections on 27 March 2015 have since closed and Zanu PF candidates will be facing candidates from other less known opposition parties and none from any of the three MDC factions. The three factions say they are boycotting elections until democratic reforms to ensure elections are free, fair and credible are implemented - convenient smoke screen. They are a stone-broke to contest the by-elections - that is the truth!
The MDC leaders had a five-years window of opportunity during the GNU to implement the democratic reforms to ensure the elections were free, fair and credible. They failed to get even one reform implemented. They were warned not to take part in the elections without the reforms, they ignored the warning, and Mugabe went on to blatantly rig the elections; and the rest is history. History the nation has to deal with now!
Having gone on take part in the 2013 elections against universal advice; one has to ask these MDC leaders what has changed now?
A more rational look at the situation shows that MDC failed to bolt the stable door when they should have done so and thus allow the horse to bolt and now the idiots are bolting the stable door so we cannot get the horse back in the stable!
Mugabe and Zanu PF would not want to rig the by-elections; they can afford to lose these two seats because they have a healthy working majority so they are not going to take unnecessary risk by rigging the elections. So Mugabe would be instructing everyone to ensure the by-elections are free, fair and credible; the first ever such elections in the country's history. So for the MDC to therefore boycott elections that are almost certain to be free, fair and credible after taking part in elections that were guaranteed to be rig only shows what a confused lot MDC people really are.
A meaningful opposition by-elections challenge would have shown what the opposition can do in free, fair and credible elections and would have produced some very useful data to compare with the rigged 2013 elections.
MDC say they want reforms to be implemented to ensure free, fair and credible elections but, as usual, they fail to spell out what these reforms are, who is to implement them, when, how, etc. They do not have the foggiest idea what these reforms are much less how they would be implemented. MDC-T said ZEC should implement the reforms, for example. ZEC has neither the power nor authority to implement any reforms.
A few days later MDC were demanding that the Electoral Act should be brought into line with the new constitution. This would help in taking the control of the voters roll from Tobai Mudede and give it to ZEC but that is not enough to guarantee free and fair elections. Even if the new constitution was followed to the last clause, we will still have a partisan Police force, public media, judiciary, etc.
The new constitution is too weak and feeble to deliver free, fair and credible elections; the Zimbabwe electorate was warned of this before the March 2013 referendum but they paid no heed.
We need to have a holistic understanding of the democratic reforms and get them fully and properly implemented. Implementing the reforms by trial and error, which is what MDC are doing, is a waste of time and resources; time and resource the nation does not have.
What people should accept as a matter of fact is that the three MDC factions are stone-broke, as broke as Oliver Twist when he arrived in London "to seek his fortune". Of course Morgan Tsvangira, Obert Gutu, Welshman Ncube and many of other MDC leaders who lost their gravy train seats in the 2013 rigged elections would have loved to contest the by-elections and hopefully win. Tsvangirai is trying to keep up appearance of one living in a $ 4 million mansion but that is not easy to do on a zero annual income. He would have had to borrow money for fuel to drive to Gweru or Bundura to lodge his nomination papers! Like it or not MDC have no money to finance a meaningful campaign; they are broke, plain and simple!
It is no secret that ever since MDC showed just how corrupt and incompetent they are by failing to get even one reform implemented all their donors deserted them in droves. All three MDC factions have struggled to raise funds to pay for the parties' most basic activities much less luxuries like election campaigns!
MDC will never get any reforms implemented because they do not understand the reforms. If the next elections are going to be free and fair then it is us the electorate who will have to figure out how we are going to force Zanu PF to get the democratic reforms agreed in the GPA in 2008 implemented. MDC will never get any reforms implemented; they boycott the next elections it will be only because they are broke and not because they are still stone-broke, period!
The MDC leaders had a five-years window of opportunity during the GNU to implement the democratic reforms to ensure the elections were free, fair and credible. They failed to get even one reform implemented. They were warned not to take part in the elections without the reforms, they ignored the warning, and Mugabe went on to blatantly rig the elections; and the rest is history. History the nation has to deal with now!
Having gone on take part in the 2013 elections against universal advice; one has to ask these MDC leaders what has changed now?
A more rational look at the situation shows that MDC failed to bolt the stable door when they should have done so and thus allow the horse to bolt and now the idiots are bolting the stable door so we cannot get the horse back in the stable!
Mugabe and Zanu PF would not want to rig the by-elections; they can afford to lose these two seats because they have a healthy working majority so they are not going to take unnecessary risk by rigging the elections. So Mugabe would be instructing everyone to ensure the by-elections are free, fair and credible; the first ever such elections in the country's history. So for the MDC to therefore boycott elections that are almost certain to be free, fair and credible after taking part in elections that were guaranteed to be rig only shows what a confused lot MDC people really are.
A meaningful opposition by-elections challenge would have shown what the opposition can do in free, fair and credible elections and would have produced some very useful data to compare with the rigged 2013 elections.
MDC say they want reforms to be implemented to ensure free, fair and credible elections but, as usual, they fail to spell out what these reforms are, who is to implement them, when, how, etc. They do not have the foggiest idea what these reforms are much less how they would be implemented. MDC-T said ZEC should implement the reforms, for example. ZEC has neither the power nor authority to implement any reforms.
A few days later MDC were demanding that the Electoral Act should be brought into line with the new constitution. This would help in taking the control of the voters roll from Tobai Mudede and give it to ZEC but that is not enough to guarantee free and fair elections. Even if the new constitution was followed to the last clause, we will still have a partisan Police force, public media, judiciary, etc.
The new constitution is too weak and feeble to deliver free, fair and credible elections; the Zimbabwe electorate was warned of this before the March 2013 referendum but they paid no heed.
We need to have a holistic understanding of the democratic reforms and get them fully and properly implemented. Implementing the reforms by trial and error, which is what MDC are doing, is a waste of time and resources; time and resource the nation does not have.
What people should accept as a matter of fact is that the three MDC factions are stone-broke, as broke as Oliver Twist when he arrived in London "to seek his fortune". Of course Morgan Tsvangira, Obert Gutu, Welshman Ncube and many of other MDC leaders who lost their gravy train seats in the 2013 rigged elections would have loved to contest the by-elections and hopefully win. Tsvangirai is trying to keep up appearance of one living in a $ 4 million mansion but that is not easy to do on a zero annual income. He would have had to borrow money for fuel to drive to Gweru or Bundura to lodge his nomination papers! Like it or not MDC have no money to finance a meaningful campaign; they are broke, plain and simple!
It is no secret that ever since MDC showed just how corrupt and incompetent they are by failing to get even one reform implemented all their donors deserted them in droves. All three MDC factions have struggled to raise funds to pay for the parties' most basic activities much less luxuries like election campaigns!
MDC will never get any reforms implemented because they do not understand the reforms. If the next elections are going to be free and fair then it is us the electorate who will have to figure out how we are going to force Zanu PF to get the democratic reforms agreed in the GPA in 2008 implemented. MDC will never get any reforms implemented; they boycott the next elections it will be only because they are broke and not because they are still stone-broke, period!
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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.
