The rollercoaster ride that has ensued since we cast our ballots in the March 29, 2008 “Harmonised” elections has left many of us dejected and demoralized.

We saw Zanu (PF) briefly lost for words as the magnitude of their defeat became apparent in the first few days of counting. Unhappily for us they have recovered their poisonous form and have now set their shoulder to the task of formally rigging the results.

Much criticism can be directed at the MDC(Tsvangirai), MDC(Mutambara) and Makoni camps for letting Zanu (PF) take a breathe and regroup. The fact that they have still not formed a coalition to resist Zanu (PF)’s determined attempts to steal the election is self-defeating.

As much as any of the opposition constructs may be able to lay claims to the most votes or the most integrity or the most internal Zanu (PF) support, none of them, on their own, is a match for the desperate regime that still clings to power.

What legitimacy does Robert Mugabe or his interim ‘cabinet’ have? None but that which we as a nation accord them by continuing to work through the discredited entities they have set up or influence.

• The High Court as evidenced by Justice Tendai Uchena’s reluctance to act swiftly in the face of impending electoral fraud is undermined and not worthy of our participation.
• The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission headed by High Court judge Justice George Mutandwa Chiweshe has acted in a manner that leaves no doubt that they are heavily biased towards Zanu (PF) and totally spineless.
• The police force set to guard the ballot boxes after voting day is notoriously partisan and inclined to ‘follow orders’.
• The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings is Zanu (PF)’s propaganda umbrella for radio, television and print media and purports to inform the nation on the ‘truth of the matter’.
• SADC, epitomised by Thabo Mbeki, is a deaf, blind, mute construct determined to allow the worst kind of white collar crime – electoral fraud – to be perpetuated. They would have us believe that unless blood is spilled in volumes here, there is no crisis in Zimbabwe. In fact, their paucity of vision and leadership epitomises the crisis we have in Africa.

So here comes the hard part. We have to pool our collective imagination, stamina and determination to resist Zanu (PF)’s attempts to ‘claim’ these elections through their corrupt entities and efforts. As tired as we may feel, this time we have to beat Zanu (PF) at their game.

This entry was posted on April 14th, 2008 at 11:20 am by Brenda Burrell and is filed under Activism, Elections 2008, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.