‘Zanu PF rigs own election’

via ‘Zanu PF rigs own election’ – DailyNews Live by Luke Tamborinyoka  4 NOVEMBER 2013 

The Zanu PF provincial elections appear to be the icing on the cake of  the farce that has characterised the election of 2013.

The allegations and counter allegations by the rival factions in the analogue party as it prepares for an elective congress in 2014 go a long way in showing that the July 31 election was rigged.

A party that has the capacity to rig its own elections cannot rationally claim to have played an innocent part in a credible national election.

Would anyone doubt our argument when Zanu PF factions seem to be plucking from the MDC hymn book in their description of their own internal election?

While Zanu PF refused to abide with the Sadc resolutions in Maputo which sought to have the elections deferred until the playing field was level and  irregularities solved, the same party has, however, deferred elections in eight of the 10 provinces for almost the same reasons that we proffered five months ago when we wanted the national election deferred in compliance with the resolutions of the regional body.

The reasons for postponing the election range from vote-buying, non-provision of the voters’ roll, a murky ballot distribution system to the districts, intimidation and outright rigging.

All evidence shows a desperate attempt to tamper with the people’s will in the party’s internal election in exactly the same way the people’s will was tampered with in the national poll.

And now the provincial elections have only taken part in the two provinces of Manicaland and the Midlands and deferred in eight others as Zanu PF begins to “Nikuv” itself.

The chickens have indeed come home to roost.

It is very hilarious to hear Zanu PF leaders talking about manipulation of the vote, cheating, bribery, intimidation and non-provision of the voters’ roll, the same language they claimed had become an anthem of the MDC.

This is exactly what we have said that with Zanu PF, you have to sup with a very long spoon.

On July 31 we thought we had a long spoon only to realise it was not as long as their shenanigans.

Now we have a full dossier, produced with the assistance of high ranking officials involved in election manipulation.

The rigging machinery was led by a political structure, the high command, led by Emmerson Mnangagwa and eight other members of the Politburo.

Two sitting African presidents donated money to fund the rigging masterminded by Nikuv, an Israeli company run by former Mossad agents.

Nine military bases were used to house the youth militia used for multiple voting.

The MDC dossier contains details of how 950 000 voters were systematically disenfranchised in urban

areas, 250 000 people brought to dilute the MDC’s votes in selected constituencies in Harare.

It also details  the use of fake IDs leading to 1,5 million names appearing on the voters’ roll across the country which were either fake or belonged to deceased persons and others staying permanently outside the country and therefore unable to vote.

After completing the voters’ roll with nine days before voting, Registrar of Voters, Tobaiwa Mudede surrendered both the hard copy and the electronic copy to the military and intelligence officers in the technical committee of the rigging process.

The detailed MDC dossier mentions that the CEO of Nikuv, Emmanuel Antebbi, visited the Zanu PF leadership and Mugabe in June 2012 as the rigging plan began to be laid out.

Members of the political command of rigging undertook several trips to China where the Chinese Communist Party arranged and facilitated the deployment of agents and experts from that country to assist with voters’ roll manipulation.

We are now aware as a party that $100 million was used in this secret operation to manipulate the people’s will. Companies involved in the mining of diamonds were forced to donate millions.

Zanu PF cannot manipulate its own election and claim the 2013 poll was clean.

Surely, a man who rapes his own daughter cannot say it is impossible that he could have raped his neighbour’s wife.

A rapist is a rapist.

Mugabe’s empire has started eating into itself.

We are watching! God says it is now His time and we, His people, should watch Him deal with Pharaoh.

Exodus 6, verse 1: “Then the Lord said to Moses, now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he shall drive them out of his hand.”

Well, we are being asked to sit back and watch the Lord deal with Pharaoh. We have a simple obligation to see God at work.

And yes, we will watch.

At the same time, Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC will play their part in ensuring that Zimbabwe achieves real change and transformation well within our lifetime.

We have a generational mandate to deliver change in this country.

*Tamborinyoka is spokesperson to MDC president and former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. He writes in his personal capacity.