Zimbabwe Information Center in North America
A project of the North American Coalition for a Free Zimbabwe (NACFREEZ)
MDC
By Stanford G. Mukasa
Letter from America
September 10, 2007
MDC must not compromise on principles for free and fair elections
A review of the situation in Zimbabwe now shows beyond reasonable doubt that the Robert Mugabe-ZANUPF era is coming to an unceremonious end. The big question now is not if but when the regime will fall to the ground like a rotten fruit from a tree.
The Mugabe regime is now a terminal patient with the incurable cancerous disease of the crisis of governance. In its war to control the economy the Mugabe regime has clearly lost. Hence it is resorting to all acts of fantasy by printing more money without generating any wealth. It boggles one’s mind that the minister of finance would request a supplementary budget that exceeds the original budget by 800 percent in order to finance the government ministries that are now bankrupt.
Close to 40 percent of this supplementary budget is going to fund Mugabe’s war machinery against Zimbabweans who dare oppose his despotic rule as his party prepares for next year’s elections. This money is paid to Mugabe’s thugs for harassing, torturing and killing members of the opposition.
And as if this is not enough, Mugabe’s war veterans have now demanded a four- fold increase in their compensation for the crimes against humanity they have committed and are about to commit in order to keep Mugabe and ZANUPF in power.
The picture that clearly comes through is that of a desperate politically terminally ill Mugabe and ZANUPF patient now struggling to stay alive in the face of the utter destruction of the country they have so callously engaged in.
Nothing else matters to Mugabe and ZANUPF. The welfare of the country, economic development, democracy, rule of law has all been scuttled. Zimbabweans and the State are being sacrificed at the altar of the politics of personal survival for Mugabe and ZANUPF.
If ever there was need for proof that Mugabe had become what the late Edison Zvobgo described as the madman from Ngomahuru mental asylum, Mugabe’s schizophrenic behavior , his rambling speeches, as well as the recent contradictory and discriminatory decisions by Mugabe are a glaring example.
When the mad wife of army commander, Jocelyn Chiwengwa, wreaked havoc in a supermarket just because MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai, was there it was Tsvangirai who ended up being finger printed and charged with what was described as disturbing the peace. Yet it was the deranged Jocelyn who should have been charged for provoking and threatening everybody in her sight. Later she reportedly grabbed a child from an orphanage and claimed she was adopting the child. But she did not follow the adoption procedures. Nothing was done to her. Can you imagine what would have happened had an official of the opposition movement done exactly what Jocelyn did?
In another example, Mugabe recently signed a freeze on salaries, wages and all forms of compensation. Yet he has received a hefty pay increase.
ZANUPF thugs can actually harass torture, maim and even kill members of the opposition movement. But absolutely nothing will happen to them by way of arrests. In some cases police have joined the thugs and severely assaulted opposition supporters. In a remarkable contrast, officials of the opposition movement have been arrested on some of the most ridiculous charges like peaceful demonstrations or gathering to pray.
Nothing of this sort happens to the ZANUPF members and Mugabe youth thugs who can march anywhere as much as they wish.
Mugabe recently purchased very expensive and luxurious vehicles for his cronies, yet he cannot pay for the wheat shipment held up in Mozambique to ease the serious shortage of bread in the country.
The health, education and agriculture sectors are now a shell without substance. They rival the Zimbabwean ruins in decadence and atrophy.
Mugabe claims to have signed agreements with China, Libya, and Iran. Malaysia, Russia, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and several others for all kinds of infrastructural and resource support like oil, electricity supplies and grain.
Libya was said to have recently pledged US$2 billion and China over US$200 million.
Yet it seems nothing has come out of these agreements. At least not now.
On the political front it is reported that Mugabe was told by the head of the CIO that there was no way he was going to win the elections. If the elections were to be rigged he was told he better start right now because it is going to take a lot of rigging for Mugabe to ever hope to win..
What this means is that the hatred for Mugabe has spread like wild fire right throughout the country.
The problem for Mugabe is that the opposition movement now has a lot of information on how Mugabe and ZANUPF have rigged elections in the past.
A member of ZANUPF and who has extensive knowledge about how the elections had been rigged in the past recently gave detailed information about the rigging process. Many disgruntled members of ZANUPF are volunteering important information about ZANUPF’s secrets. One can only assume that MDC is working diligently on strategies that will immediately expose any rigging of the elections.
If it turns out that, despite the rigging, the vote will overwhelmingly be in favor of MDC, Mugabe’s securocrats, and who in reality, rule Zimbabwe today, have given themselves the power to make an arbitrary decision to announce Mugabe the winner regardless of the outcome of the votes. But they will create the impression that their announcement is from the vote count.
The MDC has an option. If there are no iron-clad guarantees that the elections will be free and fair then the MDC must not participate in the elections. An MDC boycott will see masses of people stay away from the polls. This action by MDC will amount to a political defeat for ZANUPF. In the case of the MDC boycott ZANUPF can claim to have won the elections. But it will not gain the legitimacy and international recognition it so badly needs to improve the situation in the country. Ironically, ZANUPF rigging of elections to ensure a victory for itself depends on the MDC’s willingness to participate in the elections.
In the talks with ZANUPF in South Africa MDC must insist on guarantees, not just promises or compromises, for free and fair elections.
There are six essential components to free and fair elections.
SADC protocol for conducting elections must be assured and followed.
All Zimbabweans who qualify must be afforded their right to vote regardless of whether they are inside or outside the country.
The voters roll must be audited by an independent, professional and non partisan group. Contesting parties can send observers to the auditing of the voters’ roll. If it means postponing the date of the elections in order to revamp and properly register people to vote, then this must be done. Elections will not be free and fair if the voters’ roll is in shambles as is the case now.
Alternatively, the voters’ roll can be suspended and people be invited to vote on production of IDs or some other form of identification. A system of proportional representation such as was used in the elections of 1980 must be adopted.
The United Nations should be invited to play a leading role not only in the verification of voters but also the counting of votes and announcing the results. The UN monitors will also ensure that all the ballot boxes are accounted for and closely monitored before, during and after the voting.
The United Nations should be requested to supply peacekeeping forces that will protect all the parties during the campaign, election, and post- election period.
Both MDC and ZANUPF must sign their acceptance of the conditions outlined above as necessary for free and fair elections.
ZANUPF is not likely to accede to all these demands. Mugabe will most likely offer cosmetic reforms that he knows will not significantly undermine his rigging machinery that is now already in place. And standing in support of the ZANUPF is none other than Mbeki. His recent remarks showed only too clearly that he wants ZANUPF to win. But he also wants the world to think the elections were free and fair. Mbeki will therefore support whatever superficial changes Mugabe makes.
Mugabe wants to stay in power long enough to maintain the ZANUPF political structure and, more importantly, to elect a successor who will uphold Mugabe’s legacy.
Free and fair elections will undermine Mugabe’s plans. Mbeki knows too that Mugabe and ZANUPF will be swept out of office if the people of Zimbabwe are given the opportunity to exercise their voting rights in a free and fair atmosphere.
The fact that Mbeki has already predicted that elections will be free and fair, and the fact that he has closed his eyes to all the vote-rigging actions by Mugabe puts Mbeki squarely and fully on the side of Mugabe.
It was the same Mbeki who in 2002 declared the presidential elections were free and fair, despite the rigging that was very much in evidence.
The stakes are very high for the MDC and the opposition movement in the country.
MDC must never accept half measures and must not agree with ZANUPF for the sake of it. MDC must now stand firm on principles and its demands.
Of course there are some minor areas where MDC could make minor compromises.
But the opposition movement should never ever compromise on Zimbabweans’ basic human rights and on free and fair elections.
ENDS