That Zimbabwe is not yet fully democratised is beyond debate.The road to a fully democratic Republic of Zimbabwe has been and still remains long and arduous.It will be total folly for anyone to think that we have completed the democratisation agenda in Zimbabwe.If anything,Zimbabwe is at the crossroads.Our destiny is in our own hands; to make or break our motherland.
The struggle to liberate Zimbabwe from racist colonial bondage was not for the faint-hearted.In similar measure,the struggle to democratise Zimbabwe is anything but a stroll in the park.It is a process and not an event.Thus,for anyone to imagine that we can just wake up one morning and find Zimbabwe fully democratised is an exercise in futility.
In simple parlance,it is called day-dreaming.From around 1890 when a group of fortune-hunters masquerading as the Pioneer Column invaded Zimbabwe,this country has had the misfortune of being governed by very repressive and intolerant regimes.In this context,therefore,Wednseday February 11,2009 marked a defining and historic moment in the political history of Zimbabwe.
This is so because on that day,the present inclusive government was formed.From that day onwards,Zimbabwe will never be the same again.In my humble opinion,the formation of the inclusive government inevitably marked the beginning of the end of totalitarianism in our country.
It is simply unthinkable to imagine that Zimbabweans will ever allow any single person to wield so much executive State power as was the case prior to the formation of the inclusive government. Put alternatively,I cannot envisage a situation where Zimbabweans will ever accept to be governed in a despotic,imperial and authoritarian manner by anyone for that matter.
The inclusive government,if recent scientific surveys are anything to go by,has the support of about 80% of the people of Zimbabwe.This simply means that the majority of the people,both living in Zimbabwe and in the Diaspora,support the concept of the inclusive government.
This support is borne out of the realisation that there was no other viable alternative to the inclusive government at this juncture in the political history of our country.I am not doing a public relations brief for the inclusive government.I am merely stating a fact.And in most cases, facts are pretty stubborn.Every right-thinking person knows that the MDC, under the leadership of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai,won the harmonised elections on March 29, 2008.
Morgan Tsvangirai won the Presidential election and this is the main reason why it took the thoroughly discredited Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) five weeks to formally announce the results of the Presidential election.This inordinate delay was unprecedented in the history of elections on the whole of the African continent.It was a first and indeed,it deserves to be recorded in the Guinness Book of world records! It is not my intention to whip up political emotions.
I am simply relating the cold,hard fact concerning the pathetic and embarrassing performance of the ZEC.Surely,if the ZANU(PF) candidate had won the the Presidential election on March 29, 2008, the ZEC would have have proceeded at supersonic speed to announce the results.
The biased,partisan and incompetent conduct of the ZEC in the manner in which they handled the Presidential election of March 29, 2008 clearly shows that Zimbabwe is not yet a fully democratic nation.A democratic country does not wait for five weeks to know the results of an election where less than three (3) million voters have cast their vote.A country in which elections are run by a partisan and militarised organ is not a democratic country.
Basic democratic tenets dictate that the winner of a free and fair Presidential election should proceed to form the next government.That should have been the case in Zimbabwe but we all know what happened between March and June 2008.Zimbabwe ended up having an inclusive government in February 2009 because democracy had failed to be respected.The inclusive government is not what the voters voted for on March 29, 2008; the last credible election held in Zimbabwe.
My support for the inclusive government is not a manifestation of my dislike for true democratic tenets.
My support for this unique form of government is simply informed by the fact that post June, 2008,this is the only viable type of government that can take Zimbabwe further on the democratisation route.Yes; the inclusive government is a very painful compromise on the part of Morgan Tsvangirai who clearly won the elections on March 29, 2009.But then we have to look at the bigger picture.
We were forced to share power with ZANU (PF) not because that is what the voters decided on March 29, 2009.We were compelled to enter into a marriage of convenience with ZANU (PF) because that was the only peaceful alternative that the MDC had after the electoral losers refused to hand over power after losing a free and fair election.
The decision to get into the inclusive government was thus necessitated by the need to save Zimbabwe from total collapse.It was a statesman- like decision that was taken by Morgan Tsvangirai and the leadership of the MDC.
Cognisance should always be taken of the fact that the inclusive government is and indeed, should be a transitional arrangement.Those of us who dream that the inclusive government should last forever are obviously thinking selfishly.They will, no doubt, be disappointed; sooner rather than later.
The people of Zimbabwe are keen to choose their leaders through democratic,free and fair elections.They want elections and not boardroom manoeuvres to determine who should govern them.In fact,the people detest the idea of having electoral losers governing them.Hence,the paramount need to move with speed to ensure that a new people-driven constitution is crafted and put to the people via a referendum.We cannot afford to wait a day longer.
Already,it is apparent that the inclusive government is facing tremendous challenges in trying to convince a sceptical world that this unique experiment in governance can work.The people should promptly be given another free and fair opportunity to decide who should govern them.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s recent visit abroad has shown the level of skepticism that is out there concerning the inclusive government.
As long as there is no evidence of genuine power-sharing the people will be very difficult to convince.When the democratisation agenda is being sabotaged at every turn the people get very worried.When the rule of law continues to be bastardised the people continue to be traumatised.When clearly innocent people such as Toendepi Shonhe and Alec Muchadehama are arrested and detained on trumped up charges we all get very concerned.
When thoroughly discredited politicians such as Jonathan Moyo start launching scathing attacks on the person and office of the Prime Minister it becomes crystal clear that the beast of political thuggery and totalitarianism has not yet been tamed.Indeed,we should tread carefully.The democratisation route in Zimbabwe is full of booby traps.There are vultures out there.Men and women without a conscience.Unprincipled people who are prepared to defend the indefencable.Pathetic and greedy monsters who will do anything for money.Shame on these people.
We should remain vigilant as a people.We should learn to distuingish between genuine patriots who love Zimbabwe and political prostitutes and turn-coats who are invariably driven by selfish motives in whatever they do in their lives.These characters will always change their colours like a chameleon.Today, they will champion the enactment of draconian laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act(AIPPA).
Tomorrow, they will pretend to be democrats and hoodwink the MDC into failing to field a candidate in Tsholotsho North constituency.Comrades,we allowed a lethal snake to invade our household.We should never be this tackless in future elections.A snake is a snake.It always remains lethal.
The inclusive government deserves our support because it takes us further on our democratisation agenda.It is a major step forward instead of backwards.Yes;the inclusive government is littered with imperfections.But then that is the price that Zimbabwe has to pay for failing to respect the results of the Presidential election that was held on March 29, 2008.The inclusive government is certainly not a full loaf.But then, half a loaf is better than nothing.
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