Let those who want to vote go and vote

I totally agree with the need for the urgent implementation of the electoral reforms in our electoral system. There is no two ways about that. I also know that ZANU PF has been a beneficiary of the flaws in our electoral system and will continue benefiting on it for as long as these changes are not implemented.

I also understand and appreciate opposition parties that have decided to boycott the by elections. It's a noble decision on their part as they see futility in contesting elections under these conditions.

I am however very disturbed with the timing of this decision and more so with the expected result of the decision. I am not sure if my benefit analysis of the decision is right but I ask myself who indeed benefits more from the boycott of elections? Who do we hope will listen to our boycott because really the boycott doesn't move ZANU PF an inch of concern. Are we hoping that the international community will be of any help in the regard?

2013 general elections came under even worse conditions than prevailing now. It was more prudent for the opposition to boycott then and maybe make a little impact because the opposition then had a bigger voice. The very same international community we are hoping will listen now dragged us to go for the 2013 elections and disaster happened.

With the way things are happening in the politics of the country it is now much more certain that by 2018 nearly half the constituencies would have gone for by elections. If the boycott continues who will have benefited?

We can all see that ZANU PF is going through a self cleansing exercise where it is trying to eliminate all those that it feels are against them amongst themselves and they can confidently do this very well knowing there will be no challenge from the opposition.

If opposition was genuine in its dealings this was an opportune time to start digging into the ZANU territory while they are squabbling and fight to reclaim some lost ground. If opposition stands aside and look, certainly it's ZANU PF that gains ground. We all know with certainty what they are capable of doing as soon as they gain ground. What we have just done is to extend the revolution to democracy by another decade by our own decisions as opposition.

I am somewhat left convinced that this election boycott decision is a ZANU PF idea sold to the opposition through some infiltrated intelligence. ZANU knew very well after the 2013 elections that it was going to go through this period where they were bound to split as evidenced by their chaotic primary elections to the 2013 elections. They designed a means through which they would proceed and eliminate all those unwanted ones without a challenge from the opposition and here we are the plan is materialising.

Someone somewhere will one day in future have some explaining to do how this ZANU PF plan got so smoothly executed amongst the people who are evidently fed up with the failures of the ZANU PF government. People are in dire need for an alternative to try but those that are purporting to be providing that alternative are deliberately removing and destroying the little alternative that is available.

It is extremely sad that some of our political leaders have assumed a position that makes them believe that they are little gods that can tell people to swerve that way and this way and we all swerve. This is why we are not even at liberty to question or critic some of the weird decisions they make about us and not for us.

As an example, Bulawayo and Harare have for years been no go areas for ZANU PF regardless of the rigging and unfair electoral field in place. One would expect that this would be a very valued territory for the opposition which would be defended at whatever cost but some are running rallies urging people not to go and vote well knowing that not voting is ushering in ZANU PF into territory that doesn't belong to them. Am not sure if we indeed all find sense in the African belief that no matter how bad the crop has been you would never give up chasing baboons out of the field, because if we did no matter how bad the playing field would be we were going to tackle ZANU PF head on to it's game while fighting to level the field.

There is absolutely no guarantee that we can give to the Zimbabwean electorate that 36 months from today standing aside and looking will have forced ZANU PF to bring in any of the changes we think of and then ably go back to the people and tell them now they can go back and vote and vote opposition.  We may believe it to be that simple and straight forward but that's not how the average voter somewhere deep in our remote areas sees it, all they see is a high level of cowardice and cry baby syndrome in the opposition.

As we declare non participation,  which ever way non participation may be defined, I find it to be of the highest level of intolerance to go around telling people not to go and vote out what they believe should never be part of them. Let the people go and vote and best we can tell tell them is just not to vote for ZANU PF and beat them to their game.

Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo can be contacted on bekezelamaduma@yahoo.co.uk and this article has been extracted from his personal Facebook account.