Zimbabweans share their views on the election and the whether the MDC should boycott Parliament and Council:

I think boycotting will never change anything. They should accept the seats for the benefit of the party or else it will tear the party into shreds  like the previous senatorial predicament of 2008. Right now the winning  candidates are adamant about the issue. So let the fight go on whilst they are within.

I think the voters role has been tempered with, why is it most people in urban areas their name were either struck off on the role or their names interchanged from their wards. Was that not rigging?

Its a tough choice bakithi…if they boycott zanu pf will gladly run the country to the ground and juss ignore them..so I say join…we voted you into those offices.

I think they should boycott and give Zanu PF chance to do on their own.

Good day, No need to go into this shame government, let these devils rule on their own, they rigged the elections but can’t rig the economy. The precarious economic jigsaw of this country will soon bring them down, they won’t go anyway with this indigenization, the leadership is so obsolete and rusty and devoid of articulate ideas to steer this nation forward. To our soldiers who won, we ask you not to board this gravy train, let them perish with it, after all, they have a 2/3rd stolen majority in parliament.

I think MDC should take their seats in parliament and they should not contribute anything, they should just go there and sit so that they will have an insight on what Zanu PF will be planning.

I have noticed that there are people out there who do not think the MDC leadership should be fingered in the party’s 2013 election loss. They have been swift to label anyone who has dared to suggest culpability of the MDC leadership in the 2013 electoral loss as unprincipled sell outs or ingrates who were all the while in hiding while only the MDC leadership, alone, fought bloody selfless battles for the same people’s independence from Zanu PF.

In some cases, MDC sympathisers have even had the cheek to blame the people for the loss accusing them of apathy, and as such architects of Zanu PF victory! Such is the arrogance and disdain pervading the democratic movement that it has lost the decency to locate fault within – even for clearly inherent mistakes. What they accuse Zanu PF, they are now perfecting.

My point is, stop gagging people in expressing their frustrations over the election loss. People cannot have a similar mono way of grieving. People deal with grief variously, and when you feel you are within your right to want to regulate expression of grief then you are equally within your right in deserving the term intolerant.

MDC die-hards need to wake up to the fact that the bulk of their supporters are a product of a protest awakening to Zanu PF insensitivities of the 2008 period. MDC supporters moved to MDC in search of a caring and delivering leadership, which would distinguish itself in the unfair conditions prevailing. Not a leadership that masters the art of crying citing unfair electoral conditions in Zimbabwe! The MDC knew on day one that the jungle had Zanu PF and what that meant. Yet it would appear they carried lipstick and tears in their hunt pack.

The people are irate at MDC not Zanu PF and its rigging because they feel MDC leaders slept on the job and trivialised the task at hand.

Read the full article here

Now that it’s “official” that the Zim kwacha is not coming back anytime soon, we eagerly await the promise of a big pay day for people who lost their money when the local currency was suspended.

Mugabe promised supporters that once he wins the poll, Zimbabweans will be compensated for the loss of their savings.

Reported the Sunday Mail: “Zimbabweans from all walks of life are scrounging for Zimbabwe dollar notes following the announcement by President Mugabe that those who are still in possession of the currency must keep it as they will be compensated.”

Of course no one asked where the money will come from, but to hazard a guess, the diamond purse shall be opened wide, in fact wider than the margin with which Zanu PF own!

After all, everything under the sun has been pinned on diamonds, and one of the major rifts during that ugly GNU beast was that Tendai Biti was a scrooge who did not want Zimbabweans to benefit from the diamond riches.

(Actually, I just read Munyaradzi Gwisai allege the same!).

Now here is a beautiful picture: every household across the country turns their mattresses down-side-up, ransacks every nook and cranny in their homes, hovels and harems in search of the suspended currency (remember that wad of notes Tsvangirai waved during one of his campaign rallies), runs to banks (surely that’s where they will get “their” money not Zanu PF offices) to claim their dues at the same time civil servants are lining up to get their salaries. Now that’s something to watch!

And there is no need to dabble in elementary economics and the effect of this on money supply, consumer prices, and all that, but merchants of apocalypse-now can already see a throwback to that time many imagined was behind us.

Here is how the Sunday Mail reported it : “He (Mugabe) also said there were consultations between his Office and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono to see how people who lost their money during the switch-over from the Zimbabwe dollar to the multi-currency regime could be compensated.

A snap survey conducted by this paper revealed that most Harare residents are waiting excitedly for the “windfall”.

“Luckily for me, I did not dispose of my Zim-dollars. Since I am going to be given an equivalent of United dollars, I am going to jealously guard my treasure,” Maureen Chakandinakira, an informal trader who sells her wares in Harare’s First Street, said. In the high-density suburb of Rugare in Harare, residents, mostly youngsters, could be seen rummaging through rubbish dumps and open spaces as they sought the much-needed currency.”

Can only be Zanu PF!

A lot of people have run out of words to describe the unexpected silence in our country after this daylight theft of our election. Others have taken it as an opportunity or cover up, whichever stance people might propound, to decorate Zimbabweans as a tranquil, law abiding and understanding people. These are all true about us but they are not sufficient in explaining the silence over the 31 July rigged election. Neither do these excuses attempt to explain the silence over a public secret that was told by the late Edward Chindori Chininga that diamond remittances are disappearing and not benefiting the citizens. Zimbabweans are not silent about these evil acts against their liberties and rights but rather they are silenced. The Central Intelligence Organisation in our country has done a remarkable job in making sure that every Zimbabwean in and outside country is silent to allow the totalitarians running our country to loot our resources without any inquisition. Only God knows the anger and pain that is brewing in the silence of the people.

The assumption that ZANU-PF was idle in their plans gave MDC-T an early victory celebration before even the elections were done. Taking down a party, which has enjoyed power for 33 years, is no mean feat and half way through the journey MDC-T’s struggle train took some unnecessary stops. Many are still asking themselves questions on how the MDC-T lost the election when victory was written all over it. The election defeat of 2008 was painful for ZANU-PF but their wounds healed fast helped by the lifeline they received from the inclusive government. MDC-T was deceived into thinking that the revolutionary party was out of the game, and limping. Little did they know that hit and run guerilla tactics had been born? With almost every resource at its disposal ZANU-PF out maneuvered MDC-T in every way. Regional and continental institutions like SADC and the African Union gave MDC-T a false sense of hope, forgetting that they were going against the odds since nationalist and former liberation movements like ZANU-PF formed these institutions. The countless court cases and trips across Africa to mobilize support from regional leaders kept MDC-T busy and out of touch with the reality of what was happening on the ground.  It seems this election defeat gave former allies of MDC-T some ammunition to castigate Tsvangirai’s leadership especially when he dumped them during the constitution campaign. But credit should be given to Tsvangirai for giving his best under a hostile environment. Besides the party’s losing streak in the courts let’s hope August’s dusty wind will not erase Tsvangirai’s hopes of seeking redress through legal means.

So what is wrong? The election result was as predicted, so why so sad? Shocked, yes. The scale of the result is a bit of shocker, but maybe Nikuv is looking for future business. “Zimbabwe – poster child for Nikuv.” Zimbabwe – top of the list of satisfied clients.” “You think you got bad? Just look what we can do. Look at Zimbabwe!”

It is not unexpected, for many reasons. The biggest to me is the failure of the MDC. They failed to be change. They were the Ruling Party for five years, and what did they do with their parliamentary majority? They had the most seats. The power to elect the Speaker of the House. Seems they did all they wanted to do – just replace Zanu PF snouts at the feeding trough with their own snouts. But even that was not well done; they only got in five years of gravy train. Nice house for the boss though (has he called the movers yet?).

Did they learn how to service the electorate? Seems not. Six days before the election, I went to the MPOI public discussion. A neutral, a Zanu PF, and MDC were the speakers. Douglas Mwonzora, MDC, was scheduled to speak, but phoned just before. He could not make it, was sending someone else. Someone else never came! You would have thought, six days before the election that MDC would be falling over itself to get a chance to talk to the electorate. But no, they failed to pitch. They failed.

A week before the election, Tendai Biti complained that they could not campaign with POSA. However, one would think, as the ruling party of five years, they would have repealed POSA after four years. They failed.

Also in the week before elections, some Brigadier somewhere – Chegutu, Kadoma, Masvingo, Chinoyi – what does it matter, a ZNA Brigadier General in Zimbabwe threatens the locals (and all of us) that if Zanu PF does not win, they would go back to the bush and fight (as an aside, I would have loved to see one of those fat bastards sleeping under a tree overnight!) But, you would think, in five years as the ruling party, the MDC would have called to account some of the Generals for previous “treasonable utterances”, when they state who they will or will not salute. For a military commander to state he might disregard the nation and it’s constitution – treason! Failure.

The Urban Councils Act gives too much power to the Minister. Generally agreed to by all, but most especially by the MDC councils. So, did they change the Urban Councils Act? No. Failure.

To look forward, so now what are they going to do? AU and SADC have ‘let them down’. So, they will go to court. Great idea! And yet… have they reformed the Court system in their five years as Ruling Party? Failure. How do you (or anyone else with an IQ higher than a potted plant) think the courts will rule?

Well, those failures are in the past. And I think so is the MDC. Morgan has failed three times for President. Third time most unlucky! Don’t think he will be running again. He may get used a bit on his way out, maybe get one of the compromise cabinet posts offered to the former ruling Party by the magnanimous victor.

Other, future ‘end of tunnel’ lights. The security sector is stronger. It is proven above the law. It can beat the rap. It has been through the fires of hell, and emerged, better, stronger, brighter.

It has now been proven that legitimacy counts for nothing. Only power. Parliament is of no concern. And the next election will really be a non-event as it is proven that the electorate is not needed. It has been proved – they (the national rulers) do not need popularity, or the popular vote, or legitimacy. They only need power (physical and financial), and window dressing.