via Zulu speaks out on elections roadmap | The Zimbabwe Independent by Elias Mambo [important for the archive]
SOUTH African President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team spokesperson Lindiwe Zulu — who was in Harare yesterday with deputy president Kgalema Mothlante to attend President Robert Mugabe’s inauguration — says the MDC parties failed to use their leverage during the protracted talks to secure reforms from Zanu PF before elections.
Speaking for the first time since she was gagged by Zuma after a barrage of attacks from Mugabe, who described her as a “stupid street woman” during his trailblazing campaigns ahead of the polls, Zulu told the Zimbabwe Independent on the sidelines of the Sadc summit in Lilongwe, Malawi: “We were really shocked by the MDC negotiators who failed to pin down Zanu PF to implement reforms.”
“As facilitators, our duty was to bring the two warring teams to the negotiating table and each party had to push its own agenda,” she said.
“We could not advise the MDCs on what to do, the ball was in their court, because we were supposed to be impartial in our conduct of duty. There was a well-stipulated Sadc initiated roadmap to be followed to the letter until elections were held, but the MDC negotiators decided not to push for its implementation.”
Zulu also said she fell out of favour with Zanu PF because she pushed hard for the implementation of the roadmap and reforms.
“We tried to push hard to level the playing field. That is when Mugabe felt I was doing more than the MDCs themselves,” she said.
Mugabe attacked Zulu for speaking more than the MDCs when she insisted Sadc would only allow elections to take place once all agreed reforms were implemented.
Soon after the Maputo summit, senior Sadc officials told the Independent that the MDCs were failing to ride on efforts by the regional bloc to push Mugabe to implement reforms before elections.
“In those meetings we tried to make the MDCs talk, but they remained silent and allowed Zanu PF’s chief negotiator Patrick Chinamasa to overshadow them,” said a senior Sadc official privy to the negotiations.
“We could not say anything more because during negotiations we were supposed to remain neutral, but one could feel the MDCs were playing underdogs when they were the ones who had been previously shortchanged.”
On her sour relations with Mugabe before they kissed and made up in Lilongwe, Zulu said she did not take his attacks personal because “in our meetings, we used to communicate professionally and I knew he was just grandstanding when he attacked me”.
“I had to stop being in the media because we felt we could lose the plot by creating an impression that the whole issue was about me and not the people of Zimbabwe,” she said.
“So in order to keep our focus, I agreed to be restrained even if my president (Zuma) knew I had done nothing wrong.”
COMMENTS
Absolute nonsense from Zulu! The MDC had repeatedly called for a level playing field throughout the GNU! Their only way of securing this would have been through regional pressure! Their error was to expect SADC to turn the heat up on Mugabe. Now they know better!
i can see why she was called a street idiotic woman.
It was a costly way to find out Nick. They ignored warnings from South Africans wh told them in no uncertain terms that they should not trust SADC or Zuma. The MDC went into an election without seeing the voters roll( A critical point of STOP and go no further). They also received intelligence that zanupf and NIKUV were actively rigging that voters roll. They chose to ignore that too. They chose to park the terms and conditions of the GPA and they relied on SADC, not themselves, despite being warned by many re SADC, so they went into the election without reforms.
So who made these suicidal decisions Nick? Who’s head should roll?
I fully agree with you that the MDCs lack strategic skills-how could they participate in an election where one party is the umpire,participant and everything? The voters roll is a prerequisite for any credible election but because both MDCs are power hungry, they let down millions of Zimbabweans who participated to effect change by choosing to contest in an uneven playing field. It is time Zimbabweans do the right thing by ditching all selfish leaders who are just after enriching themselves at the expense of the toiling masses.
Nyoni…..you are right ! Morgan Tsvangirai has been naive in the extreme to believe that he could win the election with the dice loaded against him . He chose to believe, especially after the recent Maputo summit, that SADC would force a level playing field by declaring the election unfair. Bad error of judgement yet again.. His first error was to buy into the GNU and legitimise Mugabe in 2008!
I see a grain of truth in what Zulu is saying. Either ways, the MDCs were not going to get it but I believe they should have done better. A deal is a deal – they should have insisted on the other part to honour the deal. They should have remained resolute but they wanted to to take a chance and what they got is what they deserve. If you play lotto, you know its a chance game, so I believe SADC was right to endorse the elections because the MDCs created the impression that it was all in order. PRINCIPLES AND PRINCIPLES ONLY, NOT A GAME OF CHANCE!! I hope there are lessons to be learned from now onwards.
The truth is clear here. It was not SADC or Zulu. It was the MDCs who should have provided clear guidelines but they chose to do otherwise. Ncube chose to expose Tswangirai s weaknesses while Tswangirai thought that he had already won. He even said he would win even if Zanupf rigs. Chamisa clamoured that Zanupf would never be able to rig. So? No one can help the MDCs except themselves!
One lesson which Morgan Tsvangirai should have learnt by now iS that in a game of politics like in any game one needs to be shrewed and not go to sleep as he used to when he spent a lot of time drinking tea with President Mugabe.
MDC was less culculative…..they did not do their maths right……they expected support from SADC, SA and expected impartiality…..even on the 28 of July, it was possible for MDC tl say we are not participating because we have no voters roll
SADC failed to insure that Mugabe and Zanu PF complied with SADC guidelines on fre and fair elections. Having not not complied with the SADC guidelines they should not have endorsed the election. As to the MDC they should have been much tougher right from the outset when negotiating the GPA, and during the GNU. They should have made it clear that they would not countenance elections until a new constitution had been in force for two years and for all the conditions of the GPA to have been complied with for two years. They shouold have refused to countenance elections until the voters roll had been prepared distributed and audited. They should also have immediately launched a court action on Mugabe’s calling of the election as it was unlawful because he had to consult parliament whose approval was constitutionally necessary. This should have been pushed at the SADC, meetings. The MDC parties were naive in the extreme.
SADC failed to insure that Mugabe and Zanu PF complied with SADC guidelines on free and fair elections. Having not not complied with the SADC guidelines they should not have endorsed the election. As to the MDC they should have been much tougher right from the outset when negotiating the GPA, and during the GNU. They should have made it clear that they would not countenance elections until a new constitution had been in force for two years and for all the conditions of the GPA to have been complied with for two years. They should have refused to countenance elections until the voters roll had been prepared distributed and audited. They should also have immediately launched a court action on Mugabe’s calling of the election as it was unlawful because he had to consult parliament whose approval was constitutionally necessary. This should have been pushed at the SADC, meetings. The MDC parties were naive in the extreme.
There wouldn’t be any rationale for refusal to endorse the election once the participants (i.e. MDCs etc), SADC & AU had allowed it to take place unless there was a violation of the election event itself of such a magnitude that would warrant such a move.
It is irrational for anyone to expect SADC or AU to fail to endorse the election on the basis of issues that existed prior to the event itself. On this simple logic agree with many who said it was the participants (MDCs in particular) who should have refused to partake in an event that was too far from being free & fair.
I wouldn’t have expect SADC to dictate to the participants as to whether to take part in the election or not.
What is clear is MDC totally miscalculated & concluded that it would still win the election despite the defective process.
They should have insisted on the processes. I guess, the lack of respect for due processes had also gotten into MDCs’ blood given the way they railroaded the constitution-making processes alongside zanu pf. This time around it turned out to be a fatal mistake for them.
All of this just goes to show how hopeless and toothless SADC is!!
Mugabe was right this is just a stupid streetwoman who does not know herself.
al those cheated wilb punished by God.remember the story of moses
We cant blame Lindiwe Zulu guys, its our country and its our democracy that remains under developed. In 5years things will remain the same without much needed reforms, street woman or not we need to be able to chose political leaders freely. Even if the MDCs had won the problem would remain, a country where institutions rig elections for the incumbent is a bad home for us. So please lets focus on our country and its institutions (ZEC, RG’s office, police, CIO and other gvt departments) they are not fit for electoral democracy. Reforms are needed as a matter of urgency. Street woman and negotiators will come and go, we and our country remain. Leave Lindiwe alone she stood up to Mugabe when we all failed
SADC is the major culprit here because it did not ensure total compliance by all GPA Parties and left ZANU (PF) to do what they wanted. Both MDCs were complacent in having total faith in SADC when it was clear from the onset that SADC favoured (ZANU (PF). SADC endorsed Mugabe’s Presidency despite his loss to Morgan Tsvangirai at the 2008 Polls and that alone tells a long story about SADC’s impartiality. SADC is a bunch of tired and old politicians who are there to ensure that ruling parties in Africa remain in power nothwithstanding their rejection by the toiling masses.
Kevin Watson ua right on your analysis bt I don’t agree w u on suggesting sadc shd not have endorsed e elections. If they had not done so it would seem they were fighting in mdc corner. Mdc shd not have contested e elections given all e shoddy manner e whole process was being handled. The MDCs were preoccupied w outdoing each other instead of combining forces agst zanu. Zanu has come out as e biggest and only winner w e MDCs e biggest losers. After all e 2 MDC competed agst each other to spruce Mugabe’s image. The MDC forgot that e method of a doing a task determines e outcome hence e electoral preparations determined e outcome. The only lessons to be learnt here are, w zanu budget for anything and everything no matter how logical or otherwise it is, never take anything for granted, never expect zanu to use common sense, be resolute and never be shakened, don’t rely on what e law says, never trust them etc
Lets hear from Biti, the very one who once came to the US and refused to hold a meeting with MDC Diaspora claiming he was strictly on govt. business, forgetting that his job was thanks to MDC. Lets hear from Ncube, the farm owner who claims to be the professor of law. These two held the opposing position during all these negotiations with Chinamasa. Frankly, all MDC leadership should resign in shame. Here is why:
1. Who can claim he was in GNU when they did not know who printed the ballots, whose money, where this was being done etc?
2. How insane can MDC be for being pushed into an election when they least knew how many polling stations, where they were and who was to vote where?
3. Why would they honestly agree to an election whose voter’s role was nowhere in their hands?
As much was we appreciate the MDC effort for trying to fight evil, they proved too weak to be a front of change. They should resign.
I think all the comments is good SADC they did’t do anything and now it’s too late to change what happened l love my country very much before elections my dream was that things will change but all that is gone. Plz God forgive us if we did something wrong to you coz we are suffering enough already
dont play with zanu pf, it indicates right n it turns left, it jumps where theres no gully to pretend, and runs smooth when the road is full of stumbles, if you are trailing behind you are the one to cry. mugabe was clearly telling them that, he want to get rid off them from g.n.u and not allow any gvnmt including mdc but he is not the one who votes,these guys had more than enough signs n warnings they kept themselves in a slumber, they deserve this treatment.
theere is nothing the MDCs could have done.negotiations or no negotiations ZANU would not implement any reforms. When Tsvangirai won in 2008 ZANU refused with the results. What did SADC do to force the release of results? when zanu refused with diamond revenue what did MDC do?Biti cried and cried but did that help?ZANU had power to do anything.I dont blame anyone but the ZANU system
We all know that MDC was a junior partner in the GNU, so it was SADC’s responsibility to make sure that the playing field was level. They failed that dismally because they couldn’t handle Mugabe, she should stop her nonsense!