Citizens of this country yearn for an election that will remove the debilitating political uncertainty that has harmed prospects for peace, stability and economic prosperity.Sadc, the guarantors of the Global Political Agreement, which is the basis of the inclusive government, has concluded that at present conditions do not exist for free and fair elections.
Under their wise counsel, negotiators to the GPA have already set in motion a process that could lead to the crafting of a roadmap for undisputed elections. Among them is Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, who concurred with fellow negotiators that elections could not be held this year. The groundwork is simply not in place.
Postponing them to a later date gives the negotiators ample time to draft changes to the electoral laws of the country that heavily favour President Mugabe.Also, a delay would provide a chance to reform the security sector which has been heavily politicised. Against all the norms of democratic states, Zimbabwe’s military chiefs have taken sides in politics and are propping up Mugabe’s shaky rule by suffocating his political opponents.
When all right-thinking Zimbabweans were starting to have confidence in the Sadc- initiated negotiating process, Mugabe has acted the spoiler he has always been.He whipped everyone at the Politburo last week into endorsing the holding of elections this year, putting himself in direct confrontation with Sadc, which could meet later this month.
Mugabe’s headstrong insistence on elections is not only retrogressive, but exposes his desperation to cling on to power until he dies in office. The advice that needs to be given to Mugabe is that at 87, the time is ripe for him to gracefully exit the political stage without being pushed like former presidents Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia.
