via Tsvangirai says did not ignore SADC advice – New Zimbabwe 19/04/2015
MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has dismissed claims that he and his party ignored advice from SADC leaders sympathetic to their cause, not to take part in the July 2013 elections which the opposition claims were rigged.
The MDC-T took part in the harmonised polls which saw Zanu PF restore its yesteryear two thirds majority while President Robert Mugabe emerged a runaway victor in the presidential election.
Following continued haggling by Zanu PF and the opposition on the levelling on elusive electoral reforms, the MDC-T nonetheless plunged into the poll.
The party went on to lose extensively in the process with diplomatic sources saying Tsvangirai and the other MDC faction led by Welshman Ncube defied advice by SADC leaders to boycott the process.
Probably speaking publicly for the first time over the MDC-T’s participation, Tsvangirai said at a press briefing Friday no such advice came to his party.
“…I understand there are people who have been saying that the MDC-T participated in the 2013 elections against the advice of SADC, against the advice of some of the people in the country. Far from it,” said the former Prime Minister.
“SADC did not advise us in any manor or form not to participate. In fact, they acquiesced with a push by Mugabe to have an election in spite of the absence of reforms.”
Until the 2013 polls, SADC had mandated South Africa to see through negotiations for a transitional government and electoral reforms in the troubled country.
Meanwhile, the MDC-T leader has insisted his party will not go back on its decision to boycott future polls in the country held under the current electoral conditions he said favoured a Zanu PF victory.
“We have made an assessment that for as long as there is a conduct of elections the way election management is being carried out in this country, it will neither create democratic space nor will it liberate the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
“My understanding is that an election is a contestation that the contest must be equal to all players.
“In this case, we have actually recognised that we are legitimising the fraud and the fraudulent activities of Zanu PF.”
COMMENTS
Tsvangirai must be on some strong Hashish. Did he need the SADC to tell him that the playing field was not even? Then he expects people to believe he is a leader..
Save!! you are not fooling anyone by denying the undeniable that you went into the polls against advice from SADC, NGO’S and many other ‘well-meaning’ advisors. I have a feeling that Tsvangirayi knew what he was doing by participating in the polls having shared coffee with the president every Monday or was it every Tuesdays. Having been PM for a long time with duties among many to oversee the elections let us not forget that Tsvangirayi and his deputy Khupe are reported to have been beneficiaries of the NIKUV generosity through the projects ‘with strings attached’ and not to forget the ‘mansion’ he got from ZANU PF, the beautiful ladies or wives he got only from ZANU PF as if there are no beautiful women in his party. Save!! you have played your part and personally I appreciate your contribution towards democracy in Zimbabwe but please for goodness sake do not take other people for granted as some of them have the capacity to read between the lines.
Lets be honest and face facts. The MDC made one very serious mistake and that was made in 2008. That mistake was a repeat of the 2000 situation – when a constitutional referendum was lost and it was clear that ZANU-PF would lose the elections to follow in 2002.
Let me be more explicit – the 2002 elections were a fraud and the only way that it could be legitimized was to ensure that the SADC and AU endorse the election outcome. In that case Mbeki took the lead to protect his friend and ZANU-PF from defeat and despite advice from his own Judges to the contrary – Mbeki forced the SA observer mission and the ANC membership of that observer mission to declare the polls free and fair.
The 2008 elections were a bigger farce. The results were so disastrous even Mugabe admitted that he got only 27% of the vote. Again Mbeki intervened to prevent disaster for Mugabe and ZANU-PF. On the way to an SADC conference Mbeki stopped over in Harare to set the scene for major election fraud after the results were not announced for five weeks after the presidential election. Despite the delay in announcement of the results – Mbeki said there was no crisis and that the results would be announced soon.
Mbeki was fully aware of and approved the results as announced in an effort to protect Mugabe. There was no way that Mugabe could be declared the winner so the the not-so-secret arrangement with Mbeki was that false results resulting in a run-off election would be announced and that Mugabe would then win the run-off by manipulating the results in advance.
In all this Mugabe had a constant ally – namely Mbeki. After the bloody run-off election in 2008 – Mbeki and Mugabe was in a situation where Parliament could not be called into a sitting – since ZANU-PF lost its majority. The country was effectively without a Government, bar for Mugabe being President.
The mistake by the MDC was to accept a proposal crafted by Mbeki with the main objective to save Mugabe’s Presidency – namely to go into a GNU with Mugabe calling the shots. They should have known that anything crafted by Mbeki was totally biased against them and should never have entered the 2008 GNU. They should have told Mbeki that Mugabe has to go and that they would never be a party to any foreign moves to save Mugabe’s Government.
The moment the MDC accepted that farce the two MDC groupings ensured that they would lose future legitimacy as a force for change and that the election manipulation situation would ensure that there was no repeat of the 2008 election disaster for Mugabe.
The only real mistake the MDC made was to accept the advice of Mugabe’s closest ally and in the process dug a grave for themselves politically. That led to the situation that the opposition in Zimbabwe keep on splitting into smaller and smaller groups and the chaos in political opposition as is encountered at present.
The only solution at present is that each of the leaders of the opposition parties should admit they made tactical mistakes in the past and realize that the only way to get rid of the ZANU-PF dictatorship would be to form a United Front – whose leadership should be elected through primaries and governed by one objective – namely opposition to ZANU-PF and the disastrous present dictatorship. Once that dictatorship is out of the way a natural political process would develop where new political parties based on policy and not personalities would evolve in due course.
However, there is no sign that such a united opposition forum would be formed and the signs in fact are the exact opposite – further splits which could only benefit Mugabe and his cronies.
Water under the Bridge! His NEXT BIG MISTAKE (not happened yet) will be when he joins forces with MUJURU To bolster up his party. He will be DOOMED and played for the fool he is…GROW A PAIR MR MDC. The people are waiting