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Gibson Nyikadzino-Herald Correspondent
NOT everyone wants Zanu PF to lose and not everyone wishes that the opposition be close to institutions of power!
Of the just ended by-elections, persuasion in all its communication formats proved to be an effective strategy for Zanu PF, especially when done right.
Persuasion does not only win a vote for a candidate, but it also takes away one supporter from an opponent so that one nets two votes from one voter.
The general performance of Zanu PF in last Saturday’s election was remarkable, but specific victories in opposition constituencies, Epworth and Mutasa South, are the results of effective strategy.
Winning an election as a challenger can be achieved if a person understands what strategy is, what strategy the campaign should use and by using the right tactics.
However, in every area, political strategies differ, hence the amount of time candidates invest in each area also differs.
For political campaigns, strategy is how a candidate is positioned and how campaign resources are allocated to the benefit of the candidate’s strengths and minimising weaknesses.
Strategy and tactic in these elections were also a defining characteristic.
Understanding the difference between strategy and tactic is what Zanu PF did and it proved critical. Strategy is knowing when and how, while tactic is the tool used to implement strategy.
It was what Zanu PF said, the message, that also gave the voters reason to vote and have a cumulative difference of 1 400 votes between it and the opposition CCC.
Zanu PF garnered 128 399 votes against the CCC’s total of 129 799 votes in both the National Assembly and local authority seats.
A combination of strategy, tactic and the message made Zanu PF fish from the opposition’s pond with distinction. The results clearly indicate a shrink in the gap the opposition previously held over Zanu PF, suggesting that the plebiscite had more positive effects for the governing party.
Persuasion through compassion
The idea of showing compassion to people is one of the biggest elements bestowed on humanity. Compassion is a skill of participatory leadership which has crossed floors to become a key feature in winning political power.
One shows compassion to people he mingles with. It was compassion that made Jairos Jiri a great luminary among other missionaries of compassion like Mother Theresa, Dom Pessoa Camara and Martin Niemöller.
Even in the Holy Bible, the gospel of Matthew 9 vs 36 indicates that when Jesus Christ “saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
The only reason why Zanu PF continues to grow is because of its compassion for the people who are now “weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd” after being abandoned by the opposition for over two decades. Compassion is undoubtedly a great virtue, especially for voters who have been abandoned by the opposition as a result of poor service delivery, corruption, deceit and lies. To realign the relationship with the electorate, Zanu PF showed that in Epworth, people need to live with their leaders and not to rest on their laurels.
Zanu PF is not a populist party, hence it should focus on the people and leave those that focus on electoral populism and without love for the people to bid for their next downfall in 2023.
When people vote, especially those considered from poor backgrounds, they will be voting for candidates they want to have tangible exchange of thoughts and compassion with, rather than those with only campaign promises and rhetoric.
It’s the message, stupid!
Since 2000, Zanu PF has shown colossal capacity against its opponent in relation to how it has been packaging its political messages. Messages like “Our Land Is Our Prosperity”, “Unutilised Land Is A Waste”, “Zimbabwe Will Never Be A Colony Again”, “Bhora Mugedhi”, “Indigenise, Empower, Develop, Create Employment”, “Zimbabwe Is Open For Business” and “Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo”, have contributed so much in gaining sincerity with the electorate.
These messages played an important role in understanding the democratic quality of election campaigns for the ruling party.
On the other hand, since the same period, the opposition, in its many variants, has been going personal on Zanu PF cyclically saying in tired fashion that “Zanu PF must go” without any provision of an alternative.
Conversely, communication with a narrative element tends to encourage vicarious participation on the part of the voters.
A form of credit that Zanu PF has received freely which sustains, renews and prolongs its life from the opposition is the successful negative campaigns by the opposition which denounce and not defend the established ethos of the country in the constitution.
It is easier for the electorate to make informed electoral choices when parties talk about the same issues.
Yet, in Zimbabwe, only Zanu PF has managed to successfully drive the “issue engagement” narrative.
The opposition, however, has been available to distort the issues, distract the voters from making informed decisions and alienate the citizenry.
Where Zanu PF has talked about “urban renewal”, the other parties have encouraged “urban decline” through their actions, motivations and persuasions.
It’s politics, not Olympics
A year ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections, Zimbabweans who study voting behaviour and patterns know that the general voter is now deeply cynical about opposition politics and their lack of political message.
The biggest misfortune, however, faced by the opposition is that politics is not an Olympic game, it only rewards one winner.
After an Olympic contest, three winners take to the podium to get their prizes from gold to bronze. It is gold that every contestant covets.
Like in an Olympic preparation, Zanu PF now needs to place resources in all strategic key places from ward, district, provincial and national levels.
As political philosopher Cyndi Lauper said, “money changes everything.” And nowhere is that proverb more taken to heart than in the forthcoming harmonised elections.
While money is certainly strongly associated with political success, more vigilance is needed at party level to appreciate that it is not always that money causes winning, but structural organisation and mobilisation.
Yes, money matters in elections. But, above all, the best course to winning is for the revolutionary party to keep staying with the people, that way winning attracts money.
Online Reporter