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(TALKZIMBABWE) MDC-T win impossible with sanctions in force

MDC-T win impossible with sanctions in force
Posted by By Lloyd Msipa at 2 June, at 21 : 00 PM

Social networks have become the new platform for Zimbabweans domiciled in various countries around the world to pool their thoughts, opinions and arguments together as the quest for a new Zimbabwe narrative slowly begins to take shape. Zimbabwe is a country which many consider to be between a rock and a hard place.

Zimbabweans hold different views as to the source of our problems and the route we need to follow in order to solve our problems and hopefully agree on new Zimbabwe narrative or dream as it were.

Of the many subjects that are debated on the social networks, the most controversial is the one of elections under the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and the much talked about demand for security sector reform by the MDC-T party led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

The issue of elections in Zimbabwe takes centre stage because they will ultimately determine which political party forms the next government in Zimbabwe.

The Zanu-PF party led by President Robert Mugabe wants the elections to be held this year, 2011, hence the demand for the need to speedily conclude the issue of the Constitutional referendum.

On the other hand, the Tsvangirai MDC-T wants the elections held either next year, 2012 or beyond. Amongst their numerous demands is the call for a free, fair and credible poll. This demand is premised on the argument that the Zanu-PF party led by President Mugabe uses violence and coercion in order to determine the outcome of elections.

And it is their contention that the 2008 elections were worn by Tsvangirai and because of violence the election results failed to translate into political power in order for him to form a government.

The key issue that we need to interrogate is the issue of violence, its source and its implications on a fair and credible poll.

It is the issue of violence with regard to our elections to be held either this year, next year or whenever, that we need to address for us to fully appreciate the legitimacy and the full import of a real and credible election.

The biggest form of violence ever perpetrated on Zimbabwean people was when, with the stroke of a pen, the United States of America enacted the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) in 2001, followed closely by its allies in Europe.

These economic sanctions were co-drafted by the MDC-T and they became a reality when that party went on a worldwide campaign to have Zimbabwe sanctioned.

The impact of the economic sanctions was, and still is, the biggest form of violence to have ever hit Zimbabweans.

The impact of this violence played itself out during the 2008-9 cholera epidemic, the death of thousands due to HIV/AIDS complications when the Zimbabwe government failed to provide the necessary imported medication to its citizens.

The violence also played itself out when inflation reached unprecedented levels, resulting in many Zimbabweans losing their life savings as the value was wiped away by inflation, and many other downstream problems faced by the people of Zimbabwe.

The economic, political and psychological violence perpetrated by the MDC-T instigated western sanctions on Zimbabweans over the last eleven years has left an indelible mark on the political psyche of the Zimbabwean people; and any claims of electoral victory by the MDC-T in 2008 are simply hot air.

In other words, the violence caused by the sanctions has left Zimbabweans more battered compared to the one-off clashes that happened at the 2008 election time.

The fundamental question that we need to ask ourselves now is: How can we justify a credible, free and fair election in Zimbabwe whilst the sanctions are in place?

For Zimbabwe to have a credible election we need to address the issue of the political, economic and social violence that has been perpetrated on the people of Zimbabwe by the economic sanctions of the West, imposed in connivance with the MDC-T.

The Tsvangirai-led MDC-T has been calling for the reform of the army, the intelligence, the police and the prison services as a pre-requisite for a free and credible poll.

Their argument is that the security apparatus is partisan and hence will make power transfer impossible in the event that Tsvangirai wins the polls.

This reasoning is flawed.

What would make the transfer of power Tsvangirai and his party complicated is the fact that any electoral victory by the MDC-T with the sanctions still in place, is not credible, free or fair.

An election held on the backdrop of illegal western sanctions will not represent the true aspirations of the Zimbabwean people.

The impact of economic sanctions by western powers at the behest of the MDC-T outfit is the biggest form of violence on Zimbabweans, and mitigates against a free, fair and credible election.

The lifting of the economic sanctions on Zimbabwe is the minimum requirement if we are to ever have a free, fair and credible poll.

All this pussy-footing about security sector reform and the drafting of a new Constitution will not lead us to the ‘Promised Land’ if the fundamentals are not addressed.

The violent assault on Zimbabweans through economic sanctions continues to play itself out in institutions like the Kimberley Process. Whilst the current chair, the Democratic Republic of Congo, has authorized Zimbabwe to sell its diamonds internationally, the same countries that have sanctioned Zimbabwe continue to block, by whatever cruel means necessary, the selling of those gems.

So how is Zimbabwe supposed to have free, fair and credible elections with this economic assault taking place, and the MDC-T silently supporting them?


It is a truism that the economic sanctions on Zimbabwe were put in place primarily to weaken the Zanu-PF led Zimbabwe government and push citizens of Zimbabwe to turn against their elected leadership. This strategy skews any election in favour of the MDC-T and muddles the political playing field.

The general idea was to have Tsvangirai and his MDC-T party hijack the reins of power as soon as the people of Zimbabwe, battered by economic sanctions, overthrew the Mugabe administration.

That strategy failed.

The 2008 elections were held in this deeply polarized environment, where sanctions having wreaked havoc on the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.

Most Zimbabweans voted on an empty stomach – that was the west’s and MDC-T strategy. Donor funds fed citizens at MDC-T political rallies compelling many Zimbabweans to trade their vote for food. To this day, Zimbabweans are still polarized.

Finding a common Zimbabwean narrative will be difficult in a country were economic sanctions are the determining factor in everyday life.

Everyday shortage of basic services like water, sanitation and electricity continue to hound Zimbabweans as the inclusive Government (that includes the Tsvangirai MDC-T) fails to denounce economic sanctions they invited in the first place.

It is in this environment that will make the smooth transition of power a herculean task.

It is this onslaught on the Zimbabwean people, and its attendant effect on the election outcome by our war veterans, army commanders and security captains, that has compelled them to openly declare that they will not respect an election outcome that favours Tsvangirai. How can they? Sanctions are viewed as a declaration of war.

It would be morally indefensible for the Zimbabwean security forces to allow the transfer of power to a Tsvangirai administration if he should ever win an election with sanctions in place, and with western backing.

The MDC-T has a moral duty to defend the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people and their right to self-determination. And those aspirations must be sanctions-free aspirations. The holding of a free, fair and credible election should be preceded by the lifting of sanctions and denunciation of all forms of external influence.

The author Lloyd Msipa writes from the United Kingdom. He can be contacted at lmsipalaw@gmail.com

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS (ZIMBABWE), MDC

posted by MrK @ 10:34 PM