Michael Sata, elected last year as Zambian President, has in many circles been lauded as a democrat and reformist committed to uplifting the lives of ordinary people in his country.
The Zambian leader’s views published last week regarding the holding of elections in Zimbabwe however, put to doubt his real commitment to democratic values and Sadc’s quest to find a lasting political solution in Zimbabwe. Besides describing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as a stooge, President Sata said reforms in Zimbabwe were unnecessary before the holding of an election.
“You people, the Western countries, you taught us that democracy is elections. Now somebody wants elections and you say no,” he said. His views do not only fly in the face of the Sadc’s mediation process in Zimbabwe, which is aimed at levelling the political playing field before the holding of an election, but are a dangerous affront to fundamental tenets of good governance.
Zimbabweans are committed to holding elections under a new people-driven constitution and in an environment that ensures that the result of the poll is not contested. They are not clamouring for the holding of elections on President Mugabe’s terms. They saw the dangers of that in 2008 and do not want to see a repetition of that bloody episode.
President Sata’s sentiments about the holding of polls in Zimbabwe reek of dangerous demagoguery which presupposes that the holding of elections whenever they are due is synonymous with democratic governance. This is the belief held by the continent’s club of despots who have religiously held sham elections in their countries in the hope that this would see them shed their coats of tyranny.
No, President Sata, we beg to differ with you. Going through the exercise of holding elections does not mean the will of the people is being reflected or that countries are establishing democratic processes. There is no way President Mugabe will derive popular legitimacy on blind support from President Sata’s populist utterances.
Popular legitimacy will come from an electorate which is satisfied with the electoral process in which there is freedom of assembly to hold political rallies and to campaign. Zimbabwean voters want the freedom to register as voters and voting in an environment free of violence and intimidation. They also yearn for equitable treatment of electors, candidates and parties by election officials, the government, the police, the military and the judiciary.
All this requires reform!
If President Sata wants to be helpful, he should reconsider his views on the holding of elections in an environment like ours lest his commitment to good governance is cast in doubt. Zimbabwe Standard newspaper editorial
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