Getting feedback like this is what makes me love what I do:

Nothing feels more refreshing than dipping your pinkie in that tub of red ink. I have done it three times in the last five years and (boast about it) and every time I enter the booth, I feel like taking a leak. As odd as that sounds, the notion of representational democracy does have that effect on me. It takes me back to the words the rulers of Aragon (in Spain and not a Tolkein-esque creation) who made an oath when crowning a king. It so went “You, who is no better than us; who are no better than you – make you king to us, to govern by our rules and to live by our law and if not, then NO”.

I liked the anarchic vibe of the oath and believe it can be applied to Zimbabwe. You cannot die wielding supreme executive power because you and a few people around you want things that way. You are not better than anyone!

Anyone who so fills your shoes cannot make the same notion fit their fancies, they are no better than you and the rest of us are no better because we are all human who thrive to satisfy basic needs and wants just as a leader wants.

I left the booth knowing the decision I had made was right, regardless if any cameras were watching me. They are machines without soul and without mind; all they do is watch!

I carried out what is now my tradition – smoke the only cigarette until the next polls and take a tour of every polling station in my constituency. The same vibe echoed throughout the HW, only just until I reached one JOMIC – monitored polling station. As I walked toward the queue to greet a friend, a policeman halted me and told me “We do not want loiterers here. Go away!”

Did my red-pinkie sell me out?

Was this what representational democracy had come to?

I trotted off, the little pig I was, greedy and trying hard to play in the mud that I was disillusioned to. Just another Zimbabwean Election with words hovering around it (rig, watershed and harmonised are firm favourites!) and at that precise moment, like a small cartoon pig that got knocked on the head by a wolf’s knobkerrie, butterflies hovered around my head.

Sad as I was, I got to the shop and bought a box of cigarettes to smoke the next hour, day, week away. “Observation is no crime”. I wondered what Fela Kuti would say if he were ever to be an Election Observer in Zimbabwe.

By Owen Maseko … Owen Maseko is a Zimbabwean visual artist and installation artist, described as “one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent artists”. In March 2010, he was arrested “less than 24 hours after his new exhibition opened” at the National Gallery in Bulawayo.

So this morning I woke up with no Internet connection on my phone – I am an Econet subscriber. When I realised my phone had no Internet at first I thought switching it off and on would do the trick. But alas this did not solve the problem. On my way to work in a kombi I decided to remove my line and battery and connect them again hoping this was the final trick to solving the Internet connection problem.

Just as I was doing that I realised the guy sitting next to me was doing the same thing. We then realised we were facing the same difficulties. Some of my friends I just spoke to say their connection is very slow and switching the phone off and on again is helping them but its still irritating. Many subscribers have taken to the Econet Facebook page to raise this issue of limited or no data connection.

It would help to get an explanation over why we have no access to the mobile Internet service!!!

Funny how Econet has a Facebook page but screws up mobile internet connectivity which is what the bulk of those who follow this page use.

What’s going on with your Data today Econet, don’t you think you should notify your subscribers somehow… Bad service!

However, Econet who update their Facebook page on a regular basis have kept mum on this issue. No explanation whatsoever has been given. We hope whatever is going on at Econet will be rectified.

In case its escaped you, these days the City of Harare has barely any street cleaners, and the few street cleaners there are probably get paid less for a month’s work than your chef bosses spend on a trip to the pub. So when I see all of your Zanu PF leaflets thrown out of whatever diamond money bought truck that you’ve been zipping around the streets in, I can only think that you’re screwed in the head, stoked up on a bit of election cash in hand.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T … for people who have to clean up after you, for the environment, and how about for yourselves?

The rumour went out this morning

‘They are about to ‘pick up’ particular ‘target’ people from civil society’

(for many have been speaking publically of their worries of rigging and corruption
and producing evidence  and reports to back their claims)
and Sunday is a good day to make arrests as there is no court open to bring a complaint

And we look, again, at the power that  fear can unleash on our energy
how one ‘reliable source of information’ can lead us away from our centers

years ago we responded to these threats by closing down
moving out of our homes/offices – our places of safety – taking refuge until normal life could resume

Today it feels different
a phone-tree between people is activated
the connections with webs already formed is alerted
we close the gates
(burn the Tamil cleansing smoke in the center of the herb spiral – if that calls to you)

make the tea
and watch the sun spread light into the Sunday garden

- Establish confusion around new constitution laws
- Ensure minimal voter education
- Ensure SLOW voter registration (do NOT set up adequate number of stations)|
- Print too many ballots (±2 million extra should be adequate)
- Publish polling stations late (max of 4 days before elections)