Nothing Must Be Left To Chance, Declares ED. Mobilising His Vote Rigging Juggernaut
16 April 2021
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By Nomusa Garikai- President Emmerson Mnangagwa continues to mobilise Zanu PF’s vote rigging juggernaut in preparation for the by-elections and 2023 harmonised elections. 

Two weeks ago he called on the war veterans to mobilise and this week his cabinet approved the reopening of the Border Gezi training centres for the party’s “green bombers” youth militia. The war veterans and the green bombers were the party’s foot soldiers in the party’s strategy of intimidating, harassing, beating and raping to cow the people into submission and vote for the party. 

Mnangagwa is extending his mobilisation to the rest of the party leaders and members with the call to revive the party’s structures.

“Structures must remain intact. We cannot approach the next election with an assumed membership base. It is fundamental that we know the figures of those who will potentially vote for us at disaggregated ward, constituency and provincial levels. Nothing must be left to chance,” he said.

“The 2023 harmonised general elections are fast approaching. Let us, therefore, continue tightening our belts and diligently implementing programmes with a greater sense of urgency.”

Zanu PF has never left winning the elections to chance. As far as the party is concerned, holding free, fair and credible elections and thus giving the people a meaningful say in the governance of the country, is tantamount to leaving everything to chance. 

Zanu PF did not leave winning the 1980 elections to chance; the party’s election campaign message was that the bush war would continue if the party did not win the elections. The party’s Zanla army was stronger than the other armies on the ground and so the people voted to end the war.

Initially, some people dismissed Zanu PF’s war threats as harmless electioneering banter, all such doubts disappeared when the party launched its 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre.

The primary objective of the Gukurahundi massacre was to force the late Dr Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu leaders to disband and join Mugabe’s Zanu PF. Dr Nkomo signed the 1987 Unity Accord paving the way for the imposition of the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship that has ruled the roost ever since. 

To secure its iron grip on power, Zanu PF has corrupted every state institution; the Police, Judiciary, Army, Public media, etc. turning each into a Zanu PF department in all but name. The party has nationalised many of the country’s companies and appointed party loyalist to run them in a move designed to consolidate the party’s power and influence at the expense of the individual’s freedoms and rights including the right to hold those in public office to democratic account. 

Those who hold public office must be accountable to the people, the public, on his behalf and interest they are supposed to act at all times. The holding of free, fair and credible elections, in which the people have the power to remove and replace those in public office is the essence of good governance. 

Those in position of power and authority must never ever forget that they are mortals and, per se, fallible. So whenever those in positions of power and authority deny the people a meaningful vote they are, per se, proclaiming themselves infallible. And that is exactly what Zanu PF has done.

Of course, Zanu PF are not infallible, the country would not be in the economic and political mess we are in otherwise. 

Indeed Zimbabwe is up to her eyes in this economic mess as can be seen with complete collapse of bait services such as education and health care, million now living in abject poverty because the nation has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging regime for 41 years and counting. Zanu PF is not leaving anything to chance in its preparation to rig the coming elections and extent the party’s rule.

Enough is enough! People must demand the implementation of the democratic reforms to restore all the individual freedoms and rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections. If Zanu PF does not implement the democratic reforms to restore the people’s right to a meaningful vote then the 2023 elections must be declare null and void. 

Zanu PF has blatantly rig the elections, ever since the country’s independence in 1980, and got away with it every time. It will be insane to allow this to happen ever again.