Comments on: Voting blindly is not an option http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/voting-blindly-is-not-an-option/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=voting-blindly-is-not-an-option Kubatana.net speaks out from Zimbabwe Tue, 03 Dec 2013 13:53:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5 By: Kubatana.net speaks out from Zimbabwe » Blog Archive » How Big Men Behave http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/voting-blindly-is-not-an-option/#comment-75306 Kubatana.net speaks out from Zimbabwe » Blog Archive » How Big Men Behave Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:48:11 +0000 http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=364#comment-75306 [...] On Saturday night I went to a wonderful dinner party sharing conversation with a cross-section of Zimbabweans. We did a whip around on the subject of the election and people were either voting Simba, or spoiling their ballots. Speaking of Simba I noticed his full page election advertisement in The Zimbabwe Independent on Friday. Besides the fact that it didn’t say a hell of a lot, it appears that Simba doesn’t feel that its necessary to provide any contact details so that we, the Zimbabwean electorate, can actually get hold of his campaign office to find out more about his policies, when he might organise a public meeting – you know, all that trivial stuff. When I mentioned my complete disgust at this arrogant electioneering one of the dinner party guests snorted and said that I was thinking too much like an “intellectual” and that this is Africa and this is how Big Men behave. As Brenda mentioned in one of her recent posts, if you haven’t read the policies of, or listened to these presidential hopefuls, or been invited to a public meeting, then Just Say No to the big men of Zimbabwean politics and spoil your ballot rejecting their arrogant behaviour. [...]

]]> By: Keith Goddard http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/voting-blindly-is-not-an-option/#comment-73945 Keith Goddard Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:51:07 +0000 http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=364#comment-73945 Brenda’s comments about Makoni largely resonate with mine, particularly in terms of needing to vote for someone who stands for something rather than against. But although I believe there are always choices, those presented to us at this time in Zimbabwe are few and generally flawed. I may be wrong but I don’t necessarily see Makoni as a longterm solution, just as a step in the right direction. For some time I have been hoping he would step forward (we need a damn good bookkeeper at the helm) although his timing when he did so surprised me and made me ask ‘why suddently now?’ It also caught me unawares. Previously I had decided I was not going to bother to vote, not even to spoil my ballot paper. I felt that the political process had failed me. But I was away when Makoni declared himself so I haven’t checked if I’m on the voters’ roll.

Like everyone else, I am worn out and anxious. I sometimes wonder how I keep going. I hope I am not clutching at an empty last straw.

]]>