It is a sad development chapter in the political history of the country that the incumbent ruling party, holding all levers of power, has failed the electorate in all material respects. This comes in the wake that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), the so-called “independent” body has; to date; not announced to the electorate the outcome of the Presidential Elections that were held 11 days ago. Their reason for the delay is that they were and still are meticulously perusing the results. It is baffling and mind boggling if one appreciates the amount of time that has lapsed by now and one still wonders when the so-called verification process will come to an end. The masses of the people are now troubled and bedeviled as to why the issue is taking so long to be finalized.
Today the 8th of April 2008 the Zanu PF mouthpiece, The Herald, reports that ZEC officials have been arrested for rigging the Presidential elections in favour of the opposition. It is not surprising that this comes in the wake of a pending case that has been lodged at the High Court by the Opposition MDC seeking an order to compel ZEC to release the results for the presidential election. The idea of coming up with such frivolous and vexatious allegations is to circumvent the Judge to pronounce judgment in favour of the opposition thereby facilitating the machinery of rigging by the ruling party to the detriment of the opposition MDC. It is not surprising that the Judge had to postpone the ruling to today to enable him to “consult” with Zanu PF on key political considerations. While I am not yet privy to the outcome of the MDC petition it is my prediction that the outcome will be in favour of the ZEC.
It cannot be assailed that Zanu PF is determined to continue in office notwithstanding the outcome of the electoral results. Elections in Zimbabwe are just a moralistic window dressing gimmick that is designed to hoodwink the international community that the country has democratic credentials yet in actual fact it is presided over by tin pot dictators who do not want to relinquish power notwithstanding any defeat at the electoral contests. The 29th March 2008 election was a classical opportunity for the opposition to take the reigns of this country but because of the machinations of this greedy rapacious rich elite in the Zanu PF circles it is a missed opportunity. And the failure by ZEC to be accountable to the Zimbabwean populace is evidence of the underhand dealing of Zanu PF in the supposedly independent Commission. This is a classical case of pure political seduction of state institutions so that they save the interests of the ruling elite that has continued to plunder Zimbabwean resources from 1980 to date without genuinely ploughing back to the communities that they allege to have elected them into office.
Is there a way forward for the people of Zimbabwe to claim their right? Obviously the opposition and its masses should be aware of the limitations of putting their trust in state institutions like the Judiciary at this momentous epoch in the constitutional history of the country. It is now trite and banal that there is no instance in which the Judiciary can protect our rights to the fullest because it has got its own limitations. The ramparts of defence against tyranny ultimately lie in the hearts of "we the people." During the colonial era the liberation struggle was fought to reclaim our birthright and not to allow a chosen few to plunder our heritage. What then fails us to rise up and reclaim our rights against this elitist class that has reduced the once vibrant economy into such doldrums? Freedom comes with a price!It therefore needs the Zimbabwean populace to stand up and rise against the tyrant.
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