Should Morgan Tsvangirai take part in Zimbabwe's presidential election re-run? Yes and no. That is my candid answer. He should not go for any re-run if he wants to stay alive and see the sad end of his tormentor-in-chief: Robert Mugabe.
Many believe that Tsvangirai won the March 29, 2008 election outright and that what the ZEC has simply done is to joggle the vote outcome to suit a Mugabe mindset and prevent the MDC leader from savouring the trappings of the presidential palace, which Mugabe has been enjoying since 1980.
I have heard several propositions on the election. If you ask Zimbabaloola, a blogger on Frontline Club, he would tell you that the MDC chickened out by running away from Harare instead of going to the street to combat Mugabe's ‘mad dogs' and claiming his victory.
To those who think like this blogger, Tsvangirai is a coward and he has already lost a golden opportunity to sacrifice a few thousands of his supporters and get victory at the end.
Now, tell me how a free and fair presidential re-run can be conducted when all those known to have supported Tsvangirai have been driven aground and the MDC headquarters raided by Mugabe forces for no tangible reason than to intimidate them.
I am disappointed that neither the United Nations nor the African Union has voiced out opposition to the proposed re-run between Mugabe and Tsvangirai in the face of killings and intimidation of MDC sympathisers. The atmosphere for a credible poll does not just exist in Harare and it will be suicidal for Tsvangirai and his men to take part in the contest. They should not forget an African proverb that it is only a man who does not want to eat coconut that offers his head to be used in breaking it. But come to think of it: if Tsvangirai boycotts the election, Mugabe would be declared president for the umpteenth time and if he contests, ZEC, police and ZANU-PF would still connive to rob him of victory and nothing would happen.
As things now stand, Tsvangirai and his MDC are already in the lion's den; only God can salvage
them from the dungeon.
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1 comment:
I agree totally that Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader is in the lion's den. But i disagree with your opinion that the situation in Zimbabwe deserves military intervention by the United Nations. All the UN needs to do perhaps, is to keep on the external pressures on the regime but more importantly, the oppressed people of Zimbabwe should be ready to sustain the momentum of the internal dissent by uniting around its opposition leader. Of course, the history of such struggles have always shown that no oppressive leader had ever survived the tyranny of the oppressed. What is evident in the Zimbabwean condition is that, Mugabe is a leader out of touch with contemporary reality. In the first place, his fight against the thorny issue of land alienation was wrongly prosecuted in the context of a globalised world, otherwise President Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa would have sent all the whites packing on assumption of office after facing incaceration and opression by a minority, apartheid regime for decades. What is becoming clear is that Mugabe used the land alienation issue as subterfuge to consolidate his dictatorial agenda. That's why countries in Southern Africa should maintain a strong stance against Mugabe because his actions remain a big risk to the security and development of the entire region. It's a pity that Mugabe who should have left office with his heads high as the emancipator of Zimbabwe would have to be forced out of office with great opprobrium. As for the announced election re-run, this could be another waste of resources and energy because Mugabe will certainly announce himself the winner of the polls except the election is conducted by a neutral body such as the UN. Then, Tsvangirai can run.
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