Opinion / Columnist
Permanent dictatorship in Zim
03 Jun 2016 at 14:53hrs | Views
Who owns the people?
If not checked Zimbabweans are on the precipice of finalizing putting together the recipe of a permanent dictatorship regardless of which political party gets in power. The unfortunate part is, it is not being put together by Zanu PF alone.
Today in Zimbabwe it is a shame that new political players are dismissed with derision. For standing up to offer a clear vision, selfless patriots have been savagely attacked by supporters, who in their political shortsightedness view it as a crime to offer oneself to civil service. Frequently you hear the usual hollow drumbeat of 'oh go away. You don't have people'.
Are people owned?
What stops a ZimFirster today from leaving the party to join MDC T or Mavambo or better still what stops the reverse from happening? The answer is absolutely nothing. Case in point, I was once MDC T and today I am not, and there are hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who are like me. It's normal feature whether it's in a quasi democracy like ours or true democracy. The reason why voters are able to switch parties is because NO ONE OWNS THE PEOPLE. It's as simple as that. Voter political mobility is the hallmark of a democracy. As a matter of fact, in politics a party or political leader cannot afford to mess up or offer failed strategies and expect voters to turn a blind eye or reward him:her at the polls.
Anyways, every Zimbabwean has the right to approach the electorate and offer an alternative path to a prosperous Zimbabwe without fear of a backlash from supporters of parties purporting to fight for democracy.in addition, every Zimbabwean has right to chose a political party which resonates with their aspirations without fear of persecution. Attacking new political players has a long lasting negative effect in that it creates a dictatorship normalcy in Zimbabwe. Let's not bank on previouses (our Shona English) to measure performance in future election years. Every election cycle is new.
Matakadya kare hanyaradze mwana
goes a common Shona idiom (no one feeds on yesteryear stories). So in
every election cycle all political players start as equals and their
election ground game is the only measure to separate boys from men.
Picture this:
If Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were Zimbabweans they would probably have been savagely attacked by Obama supporters who in their zeal would be clamoring for an Obama chete chete Presidency. When Bernie started his campaign he had no people but only a vision for the US nation. He was not derided for not having people . Instead Americans were keen to hear where he stands on issues that matter to them.
The American electorate enabled him to expound his ideals. He sold his vision and today he has followers and slugging it out with Hilary for the right to be the nominee for there party. That's how democracy works. Elections in the US are in November this and the right as opportune time for both Bernie and Hilary to have people behind them. Switch to Zimbabwe situation. Elections in Zimbabwe will be held in 2018 unless something drastic happens. In 2016 there is NO big party or small party. In 2016 all political parties have an equal chance to the electorate .
The established parties of course have starting advantage of being known entities but then it is also a disadvantage because all their weaknesses and stains are also of public knowledge. There is ample time for a party with big on brains, a vision a sound ground game to be known . Next time you hear the 'We have people' or 'you don't have people' mantra know that they need a 101 class on how democracy works. Tell them that in 2016, a non election year, a political party with multitudes of followers is like a man with a bag of maize seeds in a drought year!
For any political party worth its salt 2016 is the year of planning. Careful planning, in particular, focusing on avoiding the same mistakes from past similar endeavors, unpacking the dictatorship strategies and installing a campaign ready to dobattle come 2018. AND that's where ZimFirst comes in.
If ever there people who are owned by a political party (for example those on Zanu PF gravy train) the number don't exceed 2 million. Therefore, are 10 million men, women and children out there wait to hear alternative voices. Trump started with a Trump idea, Ted Cruz started with Ted Cruz, Hilary started with Hilary presidential exploratory committee. None of these people when launched their campaigns in 2015.
They all knew one key need, that they needed to put up a campaign structure to help build a support base in preparation primary season and eventually the national Campaign.
That's how democracy works folks. ZimFirst is focused on walking on its roadmap which is very clear and we confident that Zimbabweans will refuse to be owned by anybody or political party. Tisu Anhu (Proudly ZimFirsters) will continue to build the numbers brick by brick. BECAUSE no one owns the people. Numbers count in 2018 and these numbers will flock to the party that is capable
If not checked Zimbabweans are on the precipice of finalizing putting together the recipe of a permanent dictatorship regardless of which political party gets in power. The unfortunate part is, it is not being put together by Zanu PF alone.
Today in Zimbabwe it is a shame that new political players are dismissed with derision. For standing up to offer a clear vision, selfless patriots have been savagely attacked by supporters, who in their political shortsightedness view it as a crime to offer oneself to civil service. Frequently you hear the usual hollow drumbeat of 'oh go away. You don't have people'.
Are people owned?
What stops a ZimFirster today from leaving the party to join MDC T or Mavambo or better still what stops the reverse from happening? The answer is absolutely nothing. Case in point, I was once MDC T and today I am not, and there are hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who are like me. It's normal feature whether it's in a quasi democracy like ours or true democracy. The reason why voters are able to switch parties is because NO ONE OWNS THE PEOPLE. It's as simple as that. Voter political mobility is the hallmark of a democracy. As a matter of fact, in politics a party or political leader cannot afford to mess up or offer failed strategies and expect voters to turn a blind eye or reward him:her at the polls.
Anyways, every Zimbabwean has the right to approach the electorate and offer an alternative path to a prosperous Zimbabwe without fear of a backlash from supporters of parties purporting to fight for democracy.in addition, every Zimbabwean has right to chose a political party which resonates with their aspirations without fear of persecution. Attacking new political players has a long lasting negative effect in that it creates a dictatorship normalcy in Zimbabwe. Let's not bank on previouses (our Shona English) to measure performance in future election years. Every election cycle is new.
Picture this:
If Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were Zimbabweans they would probably have been savagely attacked by Obama supporters who in their zeal would be clamoring for an Obama chete chete Presidency. When Bernie started his campaign he had no people but only a vision for the US nation. He was not derided for not having people . Instead Americans were keen to hear where he stands on issues that matter to them.
The American electorate enabled him to expound his ideals. He sold his vision and today he has followers and slugging it out with Hilary for the right to be the nominee for there party. That's how democracy works. Elections in the US are in November this and the right as opportune time for both Bernie and Hilary to have people behind them. Switch to Zimbabwe situation. Elections in Zimbabwe will be held in 2018 unless something drastic happens. In 2016 there is NO big party or small party. In 2016 all political parties have an equal chance to the electorate .
The established parties of course have starting advantage of being known entities but then it is also a disadvantage because all their weaknesses and stains are also of public knowledge. There is ample time for a party with big on brains, a vision a sound ground game to be known . Next time you hear the 'We have people' or 'you don't have people' mantra know that they need a 101 class on how democracy works. Tell them that in 2016, a non election year, a political party with multitudes of followers is like a man with a bag of maize seeds in a drought year!
For any political party worth its salt 2016 is the year of planning. Careful planning, in particular, focusing on avoiding the same mistakes from past similar endeavors, unpacking the dictatorship strategies and installing a campaign ready to dobattle come 2018. AND that's where ZimFirst comes in.
If ever there people who are owned by a political party (for example those on Zanu PF gravy train) the number don't exceed 2 million. Therefore, are 10 million men, women and children out there wait to hear alternative voices. Trump started with a Trump idea, Ted Cruz started with Ted Cruz, Hilary started with Hilary presidential exploratory committee. None of these people when launched their campaigns in 2015.
They all knew one key need, that they needed to put up a campaign structure to help build a support base in preparation primary season and eventually the national Campaign.
That's how democracy works folks. ZimFirst is focused on walking on its roadmap which is very clear and we confident that Zimbabweans will refuse to be owned by anybody or political party. Tisu Anhu (Proudly ZimFirsters) will continue to build the numbers brick by brick. BECAUSE no one owns the people. Numbers count in 2018 and these numbers will flock to the party that is capable
Source - Byo24News
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