Free and Fair elections impossible

Inflation has accelerated sharply and now runs at over 100 000 per cent for
the year, cash is in critically short supply as are all basic foods,
electrical power has still not been restored to the entire country and all
essential services are teetering on the verge of breakdown. Schools have
reopened with less than half their required teaching establishment and most
hospitals are finding it impossible to maintain even basic services to the
public.Many towns and cities, including Harare are without water and sanitation
services. Most urban councils are bankrupt and unable to pay their bills or
their staff.The situation is so critical that it is now true to say many are wondering
just how much longer the country can continue with conditions like this.On the political front it is now clear that Mr. Mbeki failed to persuade Mr.
Mugabe to implement the reforms painstakingly negotiated over the past 8
months. Even the modest reforms achieved are now under threat with the march
planned for tomorrow being arbitrarily banned by the Police without regard
for the new procedures required by laws just passed and signed by
government.This has plunged the whole process launched last March by SADC leaders into
a crisis and it seems unlikely that SADC Leaders will have the capacity or
the stomach to take on Mugabe at any new summit called by South Africa. In
fact it is rumoured that Angola is providing the Zimbabwe regime with
political support for its stand against reforms.A free and fair election in March is now impossible. The opposition is still
considering its options but as things stand they might well decide to
boycott the elections. The difficulty of such a stand – even though it is
totally justified, is that it closes the door on any chance of a peaceful,
democratic, legal transfer of power to a new administration which might then
be able to institute the reforms required to put Zimbabwe on the road to
recovery.It is true to say that those who make peaceful change possible, make violent
change inevitable – we are close to such a scenario. People are desperate
and angry and the security forces are close to joining them in any planned
protests against the authorities.