No election until August

Zanu-PF delay the run-off election to give their campaign of terror time to work

Harare, Zimbabwe, Wednesday May 14, 5 pm

Ahead of announcements expected in Zimbabwe's state-run media tomorrow, I can reveal that the date of the much-anticipated Presidential election run-off will be 90 days after May 2, the date of the official announcement of the disputed results.

This means the poll will be in August, and not as expected on May 24. The news comes as a shock to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which had anticipated that, as stated in the Electoral Act, the run-off would take place just 21 days after the official announcement.

My government source tells me that the decision has been taken by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission after its arm was twisted by Mugabe's Joint Operation Command. The Central Intelligence Organsiation has reported that the terror campaign in the countryside, fully reported on this page, has been effective, but more time is needed to ensure a satisfactory run-off result.

The source said: "In 90 days Zanu-PF will make sure the MDC  is dead and buried. The militia will beat everyone into voting for Mugabe."

Comments

[Michael]

What a surprise that is, and of course the SADC will more than likely show their support for this 'solution', hailing it as another victory for Zimbabwe's 'democratic' process.

Instead of sending in 'retired' generals to 'oversee' things, what they ought to be doing is sending serving generals in at the head of armed units ..... fulfilling the role that Mugabe refuses to do ..... to safeguard the population and ensure that the elections are free, fair and legitimate.

Of course Mugabe wouldn't allow that because he knows that he'll lose. He's always been a terrorist and he always will be ..... it's time someone spoke to him in his own language and removed him by force.

[MacPayne]

I'm ready to throw my hat into the ring. I don't want the West to control anything. I don't care which party rules Zim. I don't care whether the president is named Robert or Morgan. What I do care about is that a bunch of thugs have been commissioned to terrorize a peaceful people opposed to the sitting president and party that lost an election, but isn't interested in the will of a democratic people... and the rest of southern Africa sits by twiddling their thumbs... at most, trying to figure out how to blame the problem on someone beside their beloved "war hero".

If the rest of southern Africa is going to sit by and allow this to happen, they are simply proving themselves to be nothing but racists, unfit to have any part in the world community, and not even worthy of being called decent human beings. The glory of Africa is being flushed down the toilet, and I wonder if it'll ever recover.

Michael, I understand what you mean about Mugabe not just suddenly turning senile and becoming a terrorist to his own people... these are the same tactics he used all along... he's always been barbaric, sadistic, animalistic. His idea of right and wrong is based purely on what's right for Robert. And, this is what southern Africa calls a "HERO"...??? God help you all.

[DC]

This article should be called 'No election until next year May - if ever'.

Why? because Chinamasa has claimed that the law allows a delay of up to 12 months for 'logistical' reasons. And you can bet that every three months there will be a 'logistical' or other reason to delay for another 3 months.

Some say it is a ploy to buy time to force the MDC into forming a government of unity and this would suit Mugabe just fine because he and Mbeki/SADC will ensure that the MDC is reduced to a bit-part in the new government.

Even if that never happens and the election is still 'on', at the end of a year, they could just call the whole thing off. They might just argue that Mugabe's term runs though to 2010 and the first round was unconstitutional. Or some other legal technicality to bury the election.

And one last point MacPayne. There is no 'glory of Africa'. There never has been unless you're talking about its abundant natural resources. It certainly has nothing to do with ANY of its post-colonial history either as individual states or as a collective continent or region. There is nothing to 'recover'. You can't turn the clock back. The question is what can Africa make of itself from where it is now?

The first thing that needs to go down the drain is African 'solidarity'. If we can lose that as a first step, we may stand a chance. Until then, scum like Mugabe, Kibaki and yes, Mbeki will run the continent and its potential into the ground.

[chris]

oh pliz three months of killing
thats another Gukurahundi in the making

[Michael]

Mac, I agree with you completely ..... the west shouldn't govern Zimbabwe, They practically turned their backs on the Rhodesian people forcing UDI (at which point they became holier than thou about what they called a 'racist state', the same one that they had ignored for years while they were cashing in on it). Then they once again stuck their noses in and enabled Mugabe to attain power ..... so their track record isn't a good one in Zim.

Zimbabwe should govern Zimbabwe, but with that comes a responsibility to the people ..... Doesn't matter who runs the show, they could be black, white or a little green man for all I care, as long as they have the country's interests at heart.

DC, I must disagree with you partially on the point of African solidarity ..... it's not the solidarity that needs to be removed, but something needs to be added to it. With the solidarity needs to come common sense, they need to be able to admit when there is a bad egg in the box and also be willing to act on it. Without this control there is always going to be a 'cronyism' culture in the upper echelons which will always lead to suppression of the masses. On top of that, the powers that be need to be able to spot when a situation is out of control ..... and have the sense to accept help from wherever it can be gained (and not the sort of help that some countries have been all too willing to give in the past ..... the 'at a price' type)

chris, to be perfectly honest with the scope of the MDC support in Zim at the moment, this has the potential to dwarf Gukurahundi by quite a long way.

[RMacleod]

Talking of bad eggs, has anyone read Peregrine Worsthorne's article "Mugabe is the harbinger of things to come" in todays First Post?

[Michael]

What an idiot!

So according to him the tribal nature of Zimbabwe justifies the treatment given to the people (Incidentally I do not believe for one instant that the Shona, who ARE his own people have been spared the violence).

Using his logic, as Rhodesia was a colony of an expansionist power then the blacks should have just sat back and accepted white rule forever without question ..... not on your life ..... that article is the worst kind of gutter trash journalism, something that even the tabloids wouldn't print.

Where does he get that Mugabe 'defeated the whites in battle'? The only thing that actually 'defeated the whites' as he puts it was the politics of the two British Lords who put this insane moron in office and the successive hypocritical UK governments that couldn't abide the fact that Rhodesia had declared independance, stripping Britain of her claim to the resources within.

But that is all in the past, and what needs to be looked at is the present, and what can be done in Zimbabwe to improve matters.

In his own words, what Peregrine Worsthorne (or Sir Peregrine Worsthorne) needs to do is, in his own words, 'wake up to reality' and stop poking his nose in where it shouldn't be.

[Michael]

Just in case my comment to Sir Peregrine's article is mysteriously 'lost' while pending approval, I'll repost it here so you can see it RM.

It is not surprising that you hold this opinion Sir Peregrine, I would imagine that the Iraqi/Kuwait situation was also perfectly legitimate, or the countless Balkan independance wars ..... and of course there is the fact that by using the same logic you could wrongly justify the holocaust by saying that the Jewish people were 'not Hitlers people and therefore fair game'. Should we have 'woken up to reality' and done nothing then?

Then again Ireland is also part of the UK, so I'm sure that they won't mind the English back in to reclaim what is, using your logic, rightfully theirs ..... and of course that is completely ridiculous.

Mind you, it is no surprise to me that the man who stated in the early '80s that :

"The English have every reason to feel proud of their country's recent record in Northern Ireland, since it sets the world a uniquely impressive example of altruistic service in the cause of peace. Nothing done by any other country in modern times so richly deserves the Nobel prize."

can see a murderous dictator such as Mugabe being the norm.

[john scherer]

The Zimbabwe people need not hold their breath about ever, ever, having a change of Government, even if The U.S, France and the U.K. each sent in 5 Divisions of Soldiers to monitor the elections, dear Robert Mugabe would say the results were fixed! and remain in power! How Africa got rid of Idi 'Baba' Amin is still the riddle of the 20th Century. If Morgan even received 99.9 % of the vote, Mugabe would cry foul! My advice to the opposition, give it up. Go to South Africa, as illegal immigrants in your millions and leave
Mugabe with 100 000 +- of his personel savages to run his own hell on earth.
If the whole world can stand by and let all this happen, a scenaria, worse than the Holocaust in Germany, 'GOD ' help you all.

[RMacleod]

Idi Amin converted to islam and took the gap to Saudi Arabia and into exile to escape the wrath of the Israelis. Eye for an Eye etc for the dispearance and assumed murder of a Israeli female passenger from the hijacked Israeli passenger jet.

[MacPayne]

Well, I used the term "glories of Africa" with regards to the hopes for the continent... just imagine the possibilities if the governments of Africa were unified in efforts to better their people (rather then only the elites of the ruling class) by working to develop, control, and market the vast resources, to develop technology and financial and research centers, to build manufacturing markets, to allow their citizens the freedoms to better themselves and their station in life. Imagine the near-100% employment rate with decent wages, roads and schools and health care systems, and the infrastructure civil societies of Africa could produce... and become nations of laws and accountability. It could be a model for the world, and become a voice to be heard.

Instead, look at what exists... with few exceptions, its little more than what it was 300 years ago... its just that the ruling classes now have Swiss bank accounts and suppress the people with more powerful weapons. Instead of being self-sufficient, providing for the citizens, being visionaries, helping to provide for the world through their exports from resources, technology, and manufacturing, they hold out their hands demanding handouts from the rest of the world... which the elite, ruling class then pocket.

And don't whine like a teenager and tell me its all someone else's fault... caused by the white man or "the West" or that this is what past colonization has produced... that is pure hogwash. As individuals, every one of us could have become more or less than we are, but for the sake of personal pride, power, and greed, Africa's leaders has chosen that their people be less so the people can remain lackeys to their own elitist ruling class.

That's glory down the toilet.

[DC]

Michael, I have to reply to your comment on African solidarity. I think we both know that the term does not mean solidarity between African nations or poeple. It is and has always been taken to mean solidarity between African leaders - to the detriment of ordinary citizens.

This is why we have to lose this type of African solidarity. You cannot add 'common sense' to it because the whole concept is already poisoned with a blinkered view that one African leader cannot openly criticise another. The whole edifice is held up by what is now known as 'quiet diplomacy' and is in fact tacit approval. The unwritten code seems to be "you don't criticize me when I do evil - and I won't criticise you".

[Michael]

I agree that the unwritten code you state there, and the elitist cronyism certainly has to go, but I don't think this prevents a solidarity on other terms

As I said in the previous post, it needs to be done in such a way that the whole is stronger than the parts. If it has one bad part, then that piece can be removed without affecting the runnings of the whole ..... pretty much like removing a wart or boil (in Mugabe's case it would be more like a malignant tumour).

Without this sort of control any problems (of the type we are seeing in Zimbabwe) facing one country quickly become problems for others (for instance refugees will start draining resources, etc from their neighbours states as they escape the troubles of their own country)

And again you are right that the concept is poisoned, what it needs to work is a few leaders that can see past the blinkers standing up and saying 'hold on a minute, this is wrong, lets fix it' (admittedly with the political situation in southern Africa at the moment that is about as likely to happen as Mugabe developing a conscience)

[Victor]

I think we jus need to give it up to Mugabe, i am so sure God knows where all this is going. Whats mpre important is peace than a change of leaders if it has to take lives.

[Michael]

Victor, the problem lies in the fact that lives will be lost whether Mugabe stays in power or not. Peace is not possible under Mugabe, therefore the only way to look at it (distasteful though it may be) is which of the 2 available options will ensure that those lost lives were and will be best spent?

1: keeping Mugabe in power in the hope that he will have a change of heart and stop killing Zimbabwe and the people.

or

2: get rid of Mugabe and let someone else prove that they have what Mugabe never has had ..... Zimbabwe and the people's best interests at heart.

I would choose number 2 ....... the loss of life will be greater in the short term, but much reduced over time.

[MacPayne]

Definitely valid points, Michael.

The issue is also that Mugabe isn't in this alone. Mugabe couldn't do all this damage all by his lonesome. If he stays in power until he rots from the inside, there are plenty vultures of his ilk standing there at his side ready to take over and continue the ruin until there's nothing left but war lords.

Peace is a wonderful thing, and should be the goal of all mankind. However, as Michael well said, even though armed confrontation is never a good thing (I've served in the military during such a time.) and to be avoided if possible, there are times when righteous people must stand against evil for the sake of coming generations.

Here's the scenerio: Zim is given up to Mugabe, and continues on the slide until there is no unified national defense mechanism. Finally, there's no government to rescue, what are the chances the Chinese will be the one's to come in and take over. With a firm grip in Zimbabwe, and considering the lack of strong economies and good governments around it, plus the disasters already in place in Africa, the Chinese will soon own the continent. They need the resources... the oil and minerals... they don't need the people... and they'll have no problems getting rid of the remaining fragmented populations. The Chinese military especially aren't known for having a conscience.

Michael, I'm hoping you can punch holes in that idea and explain how that can't happen, but sadly, I think that's the harvest of a "live and let live", "lets all play nice" policy toward Mugabe.

By-the-way, what of the rumor that the Chinese weapons and ammo have made it to Harare? I've read that in a couple of blogs, but can anyone definitely confirm one way or the other? (I actually had false hopes that some nation would catch that ship on the high seas, and sink it before it could find a friendly port to offload its evil cargo!)

[Michael]

Mac, there is only one hole I can punch in that scenario, and it's only a 50/50 at best given the state of apparent apathy coming from the US and UK concerning Zim ..... and that is the fact that Chinese attempts to take Africa would be resisted by the west (and that is the west and not the UN).

Basically, if Zim is left to Mugabe and his cronies that is exactly what will happen, and the death tolls will rise above anything that has ever been seen in the country before (and that is including the Matabele war, the bush war and Mugabe's reign to date).

Unfortunately (although I can't be 100% certain) it looks like the rumours of a shipment getting through are true ..... however the confusing thing is that some of the rumours say that the weapons came from a completely different direction to the ship ..... possible land shipment?

[RMacleod]

It will be interesting to see what sort of impact the increasing unrest in SA will have on the situation in Zimbabwe. The riots have spread to Durban, Mbeki has called the SA army in to quell his own people, which in its self must be a huge embarrassment.

[thandie]

Zimbabwe will be condemned by God if Tsvangirai becomes its leader..the guy is an embecil PERIOD!

[Michael]

There would be no change there then, because while the terrorist, murderer and dictator Mugabe is in power, Zimbabwe is already a forsaken land. Tsvangirai would at least be a n improvement ..... and I'm saying that without knowing much about the man, because there could be NO-ONE worse -- not even the devil himself.

I would take it (and this is a complete assumption) that you are Shona, a lifelong ZANU-PF supporter thandie (and probably a member also) ..... has your sheepishly blind faith in Mugabe blocked out the screams of your country and fellow Zimbabweans regardless of their colour or tribe? If this is so, then you are already lost to the human race, as your beloved leader has been for a very long time.

Wake up and ask yourself what Mugabe has done for Zimbabwe and its people ..... NOTHING but cause misery and destruction ..... ANYTHING is better than that.