In Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe but never rains but pours and now it is pouring cats and dogs!
Ever since coming into a year ago following the ouster of Zimbabwe’s former corrupt and ruthless tyrant, Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa promised to move the country from a pariah state to an international respected and functional democracy. And what better way to prove Zimbabwe was now a democratic nation than for the country to hold its first ever free, fair and credible elections.
He knew holding free, fair and credible elections was the ultimate acid test, especially given Zimbabwe’s history of rigged and violent elections, and was quick off the mark to promise such elections. He went one step further and invited elections observers from all corners of the world including those nations and institutions he knew would not be easily fooled into endorsing a flawed and illegal election process.
Those who knew Mnangagwa and his junta regime said from the on set that the regime would never fulfil the promise to hold democratic elections. “The junta was the one that had imposed Mugabe on the nation all these years and the coup was over control of the dictatorship and NOT ending it,” they argued.
“The coup leaders risked life and limb to wrestle power from Mugabe, they were not going to risk losing power eight months latter for the sake of democracy, a utopian ideal they have never ever subscribed to.”
Sadly, the doubting Thomas have been proven right, Mnangagwa has failed to keep his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections.
Mnangagwa refused to implement any of the democratic reforms everyone had agreed at the onset of the 2008 GNU were necessary to end Zanu PF’s carte blanche dictatorial powers to rig elections. The one notable thing he did was to make sure his party thugs were kept on a leash and hence there were very few reported cases of violence.
The opposition was allowed to campaign freely without the usual disruption and harassment from the regime, mainly the Police and CIO. It is no secret that the two institutions were loyal to Mugabe and the G40 faction. Although Mnangagwa purged many of senior Police and CIO members, still it was not enough for him to trust those left to carryout the usual dirty party instruction without spilling the beans.
Not even one election observer team with any democratic credentials has failed to see the elections were flawed and illegal. The regime has failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll! The Commonwealth observer team has produced is report and, like so many others before it, it is pretty damning.
The final report was released by the Commonwealth Observer Group to Zimbabwe which was chaired by former Ghana president John Dramani Mahama.
“In the report, former Ghana president John Dramani Mahama (chairperson of the team) expressed concern over two major issues which he said unfairly unlevelled the playing field in favour of the ruling Zanu-PF,” reported Daily News.
"The first was the heavy bias of the State print and broadcast media in favour of the governing party. The second was use of incumbency privileges in a manner that unduly disadvantaged opposition parties," Mahama said.
Mnangagwa’s pretensions of transforming Zimbabwe from a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs is dead in the water. The Commonwealth election observer team has just driven home the final nail in the Zanu PF dictatorship’s coffin and it is up to us Zimbabweans to finally bury it.
President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF junta rigged the 30 July 2018 elections, the regime is illegitimate, it has no mandate to govern the country and it must be forced out of office.
When we say we want free, fair and credible elections; we must mean it. And there is no better way to demonstrate that we mean what we say than punishing all those who dare to rig elections!
If we are serious about rejoining the Commonwealth and the rest of the international community and, most important and urgent of all, ending the economic meltdown that has left 75% of our people living in abject poverty; then this Zanu PF dictatorship must go!
As long as Zimbabwe remain a pariah state we cannot rejoin the Commonwealth, accomplish any meaningful economic recovery, etc. We will continued to suffer and die in dumb anguish denied of all our freedoms, rights and human dignity!
By jeff Kurai Chakanyuka
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