tawandamusarurwa
Retired Major Action Mandingo
AS the country prepares to hold its harmonised elections on Wednesday, Zimbabweans are at it again.
They never miss an opportunity to create content for laughter. A few days ago, there was a joke that was doing the rounds.
It goes: “Kuenda for elections pasina shortages noise kunobhowa. Tajaira ZESA blackouts, fuel shortages, money in circulation shortages, etc. Noise yema shortages how far?”
Put simply, the joke was saying: “It’s boring to go for elections without the usual noise about shortages. We are used to ZESA blackouts, fuel shortages, money in circulation shortages and so on. Where is the noise about shortages?”
While this statement was posted on social media as a joke, to a large extent, it sums up the socio-economic and political situation in the country as the harmonised elections draw closer.
In the past, during the election season, Zimbabweans would be grappling with all sorts of shortages and challenges. Opposition political parties would feast on these shortages and bank on the protest vote to win the polls.
No wonder there is no opposition party in Zimbabwe that has really come up with a people-centred ideology. They have been riding on the protest vote and now that there is no noise about shortages, they do not even know what to tell the electorate.
Yes, just like in any country, there are one or two issues that need to be attended to, and the Second Republic is addressing those matters.
However, it is not an exaggeration that Zimbabweans are going for elections in a largely stable socio-economic and political environment.
In addition to the absence of “shortage noise”, the country has, to a larger extent, been very peaceful, a development that must be surprising many foreign election observers and journalists. Many countries, especially in Africa, can learn many lessons from Zimbabwe on holding free, fair and credible polls.
Of course, the prophets of doom have been trying to manufacture political violence, but the country’s security forces have been on top of the situation. No wonder President Mnangagwa is already in a buoyant and triumphant mood. He told thousands of ZANU PF supporters who thronged Handina Secondary School in Makoni South, Manicaland, that victory was imminent.
“With peace, ZANU PF will continue to develop the country in leaps and harmony. If you look at what we have done in the past five years, you will marvel. We have milestones under ZANU PF, the only party with a history of liberating this country. Victory is imminent. Victory is certain.”
President Mnangagwa has every reason to boldly declare that “Victory is imminent. Victory is certain” because developments on the ground show that the ZANU PF Government adequately prepared for this election.
The Second Republic started preparing for this election in 2017, when it unleashed development projects that have transformed the lives of millions of people across the country.
The development projects, anchored in a number of signature projects and spiced up with the devolution agenda, have been well-received by many Zimbabweans.
To show their gratitude and support for the projects, Zimbabweans have been attending President Mnangagwa’s star rallies in their thousands. Some rallies attracted over 120 000 ZANU PF supporters, leaving prophets of doom with egg on their faces.
In return, ZANU PF has been spoiling its supporters at rallies with eye-catching regalia and, of course, lots of good food and drinks.
The time for politics dzenzara-nzara is over.
Indications show that President Mnangagwa is set to win the forthcoming elections by a very wide margin, which will silence all pretenders in the opposition and their sympathisers in the non-governmental organisation community.
On its part, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has said it is ready to deliver free and credible elections on Wednesday, with most of the logistical arrangements now in place. ZEC chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba made this undertaking at an elections observer and media briefing in Harare last week. The briefing was attended by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and head of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission and former Zambian vice president Nevers Mumba.
Justice Chigumba assured the observers and journalists that ZEC was an independent body that is not influenced by Government, any organisation or individual.
“The commission has procured all essential electoral materials and has delivered 80 percent of them to provinces under police escort, and I would like to thank the police, who are among our valued stakeholders, and we appreciate you. I would like to inform you that the commission is ready to conduct the 2023 harmonised elections and I would like to appreciate our Ministry of Finance for funding almost 100 percent of our requirements.
“We hope to deliver a free, fair and credible election, and, in fact, as I stand before you as chairperson of ZEC, I would like to assure you that we have everything in place, be it legal, social or any other requirement, and we are eager to conduct a free, fair and credible election,” said Justice Chigumba.
Of course, the puppets of the West in our midst have attacked ZEC left, right and centre, making all sorts of unfounded accusations, but Justice Chigumba has shown that she knows her mandate.
She is not fazed or moved by the deluge of attacks.
Justice Chigumba told observers and journalists that ZEC had recruited about 150 000 electoral officers who would be deployed throughout the country, while 12 374 polling stations had been created.
She said all contestants had been given copies of the voters’ roll as required by the law, with all candidates receiving a voters’ register specific to their area of contestation.
According to Justice Chigumba, 6 623 511 people had been registered to vote, but the country’s laws do not compel citizens to cast ballots.
As such, ZEC could only encourage people to exercise their right to vote.
As at August 14, ZEC had accredited 3 572 local observers, 136 foreign observers, 376 local journalists and 15 foreign journalists.
Speaking at the same occasion, the Commissioner-General of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Mr Godwin Matanga, said the situation in the country was generally peaceful ahead of the polls save for isolated incidents.
“The security situation in the country has largely remained peaceful and conducive for free, fair and credible elections,” he said.
Clearly, it is game on.
The die has been cast!
Zimbabwe is about to shame Western warmongers and their puppets.
Exciting times beckon.
While President Mnangagwa is confident of victory — and while ZEC is saying all is set for the holding of free, fair and credible elections — opposition parties in the country seem to be at sixes and sevens, with Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) showing that he is preparing for defeat.
Not much was expected from Chamisa. However, some people expected him to at least put up a show.
Chamisa’s election campaigns have failed to create excitement across the country.
With every passing day, he is showing that his strategy of personalising the CCC is backfiring in spectacular fashion.
He looks so lonely, exhausted and, to some extent, confused.
His election promises sound so hallow and shallow, and, as a result, he has failed to connect with the generality of the populace.
His election campaign can at best be described as a damp squib.
On Wednesday, as the ZANU PF juggernaut roars in the ballot box, quislings of the West will be put to sleep.
This is the second coming of Shumba Murambwi!
As they are saying in street lingo, “Chakabatwa kuti dzviiii!”
Let us go and vote to defend our history, our independence, our dignity, our values, our development and our future.
Online Reporter