via The End of a Road: The 2013 Elections in Zimbabwe | The Zimbabwean by Solidarity Peace Trust 07.10.13
‘It’s a paralyzing election result to every one, the future is bleak. They will continue to fill their bellies, while we suffers.’ [Old man, Lupane]
‘I am glad that ZANU PF has won – they have promised us that we can own factories now, so I am waiting to be given part of a factory.’ [Young man, Tsholotsho South]
The 2013 election marked the end of the five-year Inclusive Government in Zimbabwe. The result astounded many, with ZANU PF winning almost 80% of the parliamentary seats. The MDC-T immediately cried foul, citing a host of irregularities including the impact of memories of the violence of 2008, fuelled by ZANU PF threats, and the numbers of voters who were forced to make ‘assisted’ votes, effectively denying them a confidential vote. The shadowy role played by Israeli polling experts remains at the centre of debate.
This report reviews the main political events of the last five years, in particular the constitutional reform process and the continued mediation of SADC. The shift in socio-economic landscape to benefit and entrench ZANU PF is outlined as a key element in their recent election win, as they have moved to embrace and control the peri-urban areas and the informal mining sector with a combination of repressive coercion and material benefits.
The second half of the report evaluates in detail the figures from this election, highlighting: the impact of the split vote; the high numbers of voters turned away, especially in Harare; assisted voting; and the falling vote in the three Matabeleland provinces generally. The report sees a bleak future for the opposition parties, unless they restrategise in recognition of the changed electoral landscape.
It is fair to conclude that the politics of the opposition, both party and civic, that emerged in the late 1990s and continued through the first 13 years of the 2000s has come to an end in its current form. The political and economic conditions that gave rise to its emergence have changed substantially, even if the challenges facing the country remain Herculean. For ZANU PF the major task ahead is to deliver on its election manifesto in the face of enormous odds. This will most likely give rise to new battles within the ruling party and provide new opportunities for the emergence of critical voices. The battle for a broader democratization continues.
The End of a Road: The 2013 Elections in Zimbabwe is available in PDF format. Please download a full copy of the report by visiting this link
COMMENTS
No it is not the end of the road! It is only the beginning of the end .Zimbabweans are not stupid. The situation has reached the apex and its climax and is now disintegrating on the downward trend.WATCH MY WORDS– the worse is yet to come -Rigging elections and dashing the hopes of the millions is the start of ZANU PF demise not the opposition. In actual fact the opposition is strengthened and emboldened – I mean the real patriotic Zimbabweans – those that love their country those whose true sacrifice went to waste and are seeing and saw their sacrifice going down the drain and to the dogs. Our disillusionment is only water that will water the very aspiration for a real free, real fair and real credible and honorable society – a society of human beings not this circus of hooligans and wild animals.These wild dogs are enshrined and are an embodiment of what ZANU is. ZANU has unleashed all its arsenal-violence , suppression , oppression, intimidation, thievery fear mongering, deprivation and abject incompetency and brutality, vindication and abject hostility. We have seen it all and is expended and will soon be ineffectual since Zimbabweans have experienced it all. It is then that the demise, condemnation and tribulation will set in and we shall see who will laugh last . The likes of such regimes have all tasted the taste of their medicine. NO Not the end but the beginning of it all.
Truely dillusional… If this is the lack of introspection that our opposition parties have, then I predict an even worse showing in 2018. The days of the protest vote are gone, the days of the hunger ballot are gone. The sooner the opposition and its die hard supporters realise this, they will be able to formulate their campaign based on more than just the hope that people remember the suffering of 2008.
You will be truely disappointed.
oh yes dont expect the majority to just accept this theft, there is no bed of roses ahead
The end of a new beggining starting with masimirebwa and many more to come not from the police officers but from the man himself since those who are suppose to do that duty are not capable or are members to that association of coruption. Who knows may you know better, hope for the worst.
maisokwazo ndi biti chete uyo kikikikikiki…….
guys you slept on the job people could not distinguish you from ZanuPf you were as corrupt as zanupf making noise in parliament wanting luxury cars. You have to be different form Zanupf all and all serve the interests of people. To be in government means you have decided to put your personal interests aside and serve the people. Rather have a skorokoro while you use the money which would have bought you a range rover to do things to improve the community like buy books, shoes , desks, laboratory equipment etc. Thats how people will relate to you, why risk being threatened when in the end the people that you risk for do nothing to improve your life.
Africa, suffers from an acute brilliancy of think tanks for future generations and this has been aided by its failure to have create industrialist of the highest category. Without these very important persons, we Africans must not cheat ourselves and think we are going anyway. The truth is that there are those benefiting from the statuesque the POKITICIANS OF AFRICA.