Ready or Not here come the elections… how is it looking and what can we do?

I was shocked the other day when I realised we are only 7 months away from the elections… I think I come correct when I say for me and my generation these elections will be our make or break (rather stay broken) election . At age 42 this probably will be the first and last best shot at getting it right and starting the process of handing over a better Zimbabwe to the next generation…

So how is it looking and what can we do because the reality is this will happen come what …. I put to you some consideration

1- To rig or not to rig elections will forever be a numbers game … put it this way if Constituency A has 76000 registered (verified) voters any number +1 above 76000 is cause for scrutiny . We can only guarantee that if 76000 known adults are registered to vote and they themselves have checked and verified that indeed their names are on the voters roll.

2- Stay Woke! … Yes everytime you hear the word election your ears must twitch and you must desire to want to know more. Recently I learnt about Delimitation put simply this is the fixing of boundaries into constituencies and wards.

Two key reasons why this should bother you – the first being that it has a direct impact on the per capita $1 contribution from the constitution development fund.

If they are too many people in Epworth versus the people in Mount Pleasant folk in the latter inherently get a better deal . The same principle applies to access to public services too .

Furthermore it will mean on Election Day you avoid having too far to travel to vote or having too lengthy queues in your area… So far I can tell you the process is not only a shambles but ZEC who are the custodians of delivery of this process continue to hide behind smokes and mirrors as to the outcomes and the consultations undertaken… This is everybody’s problem.

3/ Some will tell you that it will be a rigged election therefore why bother voting . These kinda folk like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh ( yes I watched it as an adult), to the them the glass is half empty so why bother.

But I tell you if enough of us can dare to see the glass full of a determined electorate willing to cast and defend their vote then even rigging won’t wait. Be half full guys we have everything to gain if we try …

A wiseman once said ‘The difference between loss and victory lies in the voter turnout,’ Dr Alex Magaisa, 2021. So when the time comes we should turn up in our numbers to vote but that can’t happen if we haven’t registered to vote.

4/ The missing voters roll .. The good thing about ZEC is it has shown us that it is non-reformative … The good thing with that is that we already know their every trick. Currently ZEC has only agreed to issue out a printed version for US$200…

So already we know something is amiss because there clearly is an e-version the lack of transparency is designed to hide the rigging that has already started …

Now that we know this it is our legal and generational mandate to challenge this through all means available. This is our consensual responsibility it’s upto to take it seriously.

5/ Diaspora can vote … Yes I said that of course the current government has shown zero appetite towards a diaspora vote because this will be much harder to manipulate or rig. But guess what because we can’t cast a vote doesn’t mean we are out of the picture completely.

The Zimbabwean diaspora remains so crucially linked to their home country. The state has taken on controlling most media outlets in Zimbabwe in terms of Newspapers, indeed TV ( aka ZBC) and the famous varakashi social media influencers.

So information has become political currency with state propaganda working overtime.

Diaspora has the crucial role of dispelling propaganda and disseminating timely and correct information to the family back home . This can be via whatsapp family groups or phone calls . Let’s speak our vote to fruition.

A time beyond now will come to pass and history will judge us for it. In a nutshell register to vote, if you have done so already then get others to do the same. If you are too far way make sure your vote is represented.

We can only defend a vote that has been cast – 2023 Takachi Master chiGame chacho – Register and Defend the Register, Cast and Defend the vote