Logic simply ain't Tsvangirai's forte

There is a bigger lesson for voters. In future elections people must elect people on the basis of their values and principles. The MDC has just demonstrated by its suicidal decision to recall its MPs from Parliament without intending to replace them that it doesn't respect the wishes of the people, that democracy is alien to it.

I still believe that MDC has not been cured of its confusion.

That has been its hallmark whenever there has been talk of election. It was not without cause that party leader Morgan Tsvangirai earned the grand moniker of Mr Boycott. So don't be surprised by a sudden change of mind at the last minute.

Because of that confusion, MDC supporters have always been left on tenterhooks until the very last minute.

No one should believe it's going to be any different this time around.

Let's be clear about one thing: if MDC does finally make up its mind that it's not contesting and therefore surrendering all the 14 urban constituencies, let there not be pretence that it is a matter of principle.

That has never been the forte of any of its leaders.

It is not about electoral reforms either. It is foolhardy for a political party which was in Government for nearly five years — during which it failed to effect the same "reforms" — to now pretend it can get the same by remote control.

In any event, is it not better to try to influence parliamentary colleagues from inside than from outside?

But then it is naive for one to expect MDC's leadership to behave in a logical manner because, again, that is not their forte.

There are only two logical reasons why the MDC is trying to avoid elections after recalling MPs - either the party is completely broke or is terrified of the prospects of another electoral defeat and their implications.

Donors are no longer as forthcoming as they used to be when Tsvangirai appeared to be an issue in town and told people he was the face of the struggle for democracy.

We know how American ambassador Christopher Dell left this country disappointed about the only card he was dealt in Tsvangirai.

So sponsors have learnt the bitter way that regime change in countries ruled by former liberation movements is no stroll in the park.

They have to write off the money invested in Tsvangirai and his disintegrating party.

Locally, the party has appealed for donations from its membership.

There is doubt whether anyone would want to risk their money investing in a party without any bankable programme besides talking about foreign investors.

Besides, many of its supporters are feeling the impact of sanctions like the rest of us.

If there are no sanctions, as they tell us everyday, let them fund their party.

But fear of defeat would appear to be a greater incentive not to participate in elections.

The issue of electoral reforms is too cheap an alibi to pass unnoticed.

The MDC won those same seats under similar conditions in the harmonised elections in 2013.

But then the MDC is in the habit of getting its advice on whether to take part in elections or not from its non-voting Facebook supporters overseas.

There is the misguided notion that the MDC and its leader have the power to confer legitimacy to electoral processes; conversely, that if the MDC or Tsvangirai don't participate in an election, that renders the result illegitimate.

It is such illogical reasoning only its authors appreciate it as normal. How can democracy be defined by the illogical behaviour of one of the contestants in an election? How does the MDC's voluntary non-participation in an election which are according to the Constitution must be held within three months, render the process illegitimate?

How does a party recall its MPs from Parliament and then declare that it is not taking part in elections to replace the recalled members? Why did they recall them if they didn't want them replaced?

We are, in short, witnessing the final disintegration of a political party which started with so much promise albeit without any idea where it wanted to lead the country to.

It prospered on a wave of protest votes but has failed to grow, to involve beyond a protest movement into a political party with programmes which can inspire a nation.

Realising that its future prospects are bleak, the party has opted for voluntary suicide. Good riddance, and this is why: without foreign sponsorship, the MDC has proved incapable of standing on its own, of convincing Zimbabweans to fund its cause.

There is a bigger lesson for voters. In future elections people must elect people on the basis of their values and principles.

The MDC has just demonstrated by its suicidal decision to recall its MPs from Parliament without intending to replace them that it doesn't respect the wishes of the people, that democracy is alien to it.

The recalled MPs, for their part, have shown that they acted without fully appreciating the implications of their decision to join Tendai Biti's Renewal Team.

They would have been extremely naive to imagine that Tsvangirai would be so charitable and let them in Parliament despite their disloyal behaviour.

Voters must also be wary of voting into Parliament and council people who have nothing of their own and are looking for jobs.

This has led to massive corruption by councillors, some of them making egregious demands like houses, cellphones and iPads from council. Members of Parliament on the other hand make the most noise only when it comes to personal allowances and vehicles.

There is very little by way of people programmes.

Future candidates must be thoroughly vetted.

The era protest populism is fast coming to an end and the effects on service delivery have been disastrous.

So, suppose Tsvangirai decides to be "honourable" and stick to the boycott resolution, what are MDC's options going forward?

Very few.

As a democracy project, they have decided to commit suicide by rejecting the electoral route. It's their choice.

The other option, a perilous one, has seen Tsvangirai of late trying to reinvent himself as a firebrand workers' leader.

He is preaching street protests.

Perhaps that is the logic behind his decision to pull his members out of Parliament and boycott elections, so that they re-brand themselves as a completely new movement without close association with the ruling Zanu-PF through involvement in parliamentary business. It is a daring experiment.

But don't put your money on it leading to State House.