Don Chigumba: Caution to Nelson Chamisa and MDC Alliance

By Don Chigumba

I have no doubt that Nelson Chamisa and MDC Alliance have enough supporters to thrash ZANU PF. If we are to judge by the mood on the ground, the minimum that Chamisa can achieve is a runoff.

Lessons from history has shown us that the problem of MDC is not the support base but the team lacks finishing techniques of consolidating power. This piece therefore aims to support the view that 2013 elections are not different from 2018 elections.

For Chamisa and MDC alliance to accept to go for 2018 elections without reforms is a huge experiment. They have agreed to board an airplane leaking Aviation fuel.

The 2013 elections were not credible but circumstances forced Tsvangirai and MDC to agree to go for that elections without proper electoral reforms.  We should not forget that MDC-T became fragile soon after losing the compromised 2013 elections and I am therefore asking MDC Alliance team to control their emotions and psychology positively in case of any eventuality.

Zimbabweans are going for an election when the Diaspora fellows are deprived of exercise their right to vote. Zimbabweans are dealing with a ZEC that is biased and subjective.

The police force and soldiers on duty during the 2018 elections were allowed to vote in advance while the thousands of teachers (also) on duty during the elections are not allowed to vote in advance.

I welcome the court verdict on teachers but I am sorry to say that the verdict is not a victory because quite a number of them (teachers) will  definitely not be able to exercise their right.

ZEC owes Zimbabweans an explanation on why they did not allow teachers on duty to participate in postal voting?

Chamisa and team did very well when they came up with PEACE document, the document eventually died a natural death because of lack of insight and vision by the MDC alliance team.

The PEACE document could have been used to push ZANU PF and ZEC harder. The slogan ‘no reform no election’ was abruptly abandoned without getting justice in the electoral process from ZEC.

I still have to ask the MDC alliance and Chamisa hard questions; where did ZEC print the ballot papers? Why are they not willing to be transparent on the printing of the ballots?

If the rigging plan is on ballot papers, it will be a waste of time to station even more than 100 monitors at each and every polling station. Chamisa and team should tell their supporters on how they are going to handle cheating if it will be related to the nature of ballot papers?

Chamisa and team have agreed to participate in 2018 elections when they know that the voters roll has a lot of errors, today, ZEC is saying they have a new voters roll different to the one dispatched earlier.

In 2013, the late Tsvangirai said, MDC-T was going for an election under protest and we expect the same language to come from Chamisa and team.

A complete voters roll is the one with all necessary features including photographs, MDC alliance should have asked for advice from the public court and not ZANU PF court.

It is shocking to note that MDC alliance has just given in to all their conditions. They started with more than ten demands, reduce them to five, two and finally zero. A mature party cannot give in that way, that is a good example of lack of courage among the team members. It is true that the ballot paper was designed to favor ED Mnangagwa and MDC alliance failed to address that through the public court.

Chamisa and team failed to make use of their support in pushing ZEC to reformation. Thousands of their supporters thronged the streets of Harare but nothing was achieved. I once told MDC leadership that political power is not given but taken.

I once told the MDC leadership that a politician is a ‘blood donor’  and can be assassinated anytime. Herbert Chitepo, Josiah Tongogara and Morgan Tsvangirai donated their blood to the struggle. Serious politicians should be in and out of prisons.

I wish MDC alliance and Chamisa well in their endeavours, but they should learn that there is no difference between 2013 and 2018 elections other than the date of elections.

I am worried that history will repeat itself because ZEC has already shown the signs of evil hand in the process of this election. Zimbabweans are heading for another 5 year term of serious economic hardship.   I am strongly convinced that for Chamisa and team to agree to participate in this coming election was a political suicide.

In case of any eventuality, I urge all MDC alliance supporters to take full responsibility of any outcome and I will do the same as the son of the soil.

I am going for this election under protest and among the people who disagreed with MDC alliance’s position to go for this shame 2018 elections. However, the power of God shall come hard against those planning to rig 2018 election. MDC team should learn to learn from history.

Don Chigumba is a mixed methods research specialist, can be found on twitter @Donchigumba