The Struggle Continues.

 I have been afraid that Zanu PF would realize that they were in
all sorts of difficulty and would simply back away from the electoral
process and declare that they would rule by decree. In effect we have been
under some sort of military rule for some time now – such an action would
simply have made the fact public.But we have got there at last and not a minute too soon! We, as a country,cannot take much more of the battering we are getting from the markets.  The
economy is still intact but reeling from inflation at 150 000 percent per
annum and collapsing infrastructure and services. Food stores are emptyZanu PF is confident that they have done enough to yield a result in theirfavor – they have gerrymandered the constituencies – weighting the ruralvote at two to one urban vote, they have maintained tight control of the
electoral process and given the opposition no room to maneuver – we are
getting no exposure on any of the news services here and are being subjected
to a daily barrage of propaganda and harassment.The campaign is now truly underway – Mugabe launched his campaign inBeitbridge with a birthday party that cost the country Z$3 trillion, MDC
launched in Mutare on the same day and this past weekend the Makoni and
Mutambara groups launched their campaigns in Bulawayo.We did not see much of the birthday bash – the theme seemed to be “have yourcake and eat it” with about 10 000 guests transported into the tiny enclaveof Beitbridge. Our people in South Africa held a competing rally at the same
time and had a blip that said it all – “You have had your cake, now beat
it!”The Makoni group began their campaign in White City Stadium in Bulawayo on
Saturday and I estimated the crowd as a maximum of 5 000 people. They then
went on to Harare and in the Zimbabwe grounds managed a crowd that was a lot
smaller – that, in my view, was a disaster for them.The Mutambara group kicked off their campaign with a rally at White City -using the same facilities as Makoni, but drew an even smaller crowd. I saw
no one on the stands and there were few people hanging around the outside.
This is not encouraging for these two groups. MDC will hold a Star rally at
White City this coming Saturday and it will be instructive to see what sort
of a crowd comes to the event. So far the MDC rural rallies have been very
encouraging.The towns are slowly waking up to the fact that there is an election on –
the poster war is in full swing and meetings are taking place in all sorts
of places. Flyers are being distributed and we even had reports of the Army
distributing Makoni flyers in Bulawayo at the weekend and during the week.
That is a most interesting development!An election here is a bit like a medieval battle – thousands of men andwomen line up behind their leaders and then at a given signal, rush onto the
battlefields and do hand to hand combat. For a long time it is impossible to
see what is happening as the struggle for ascendancy washes back and forth,
but gradually a sense of the way things are going to go becomes apparent –
perhaps in one section of the battlefield and then it widens until one side
breaks and runs.We are in the early stages and it is impossible to see what is happening.
MDC is good at this sort of thing and I must say I am amazed at the energy
people are throwing into this scrap. My own crew is just about working me to
the bone! We cannot see how people will finally vote at this stage but it is
very exciting to see that democracy is alive and well on the streets if not
in our State House! It gives me real faith in the future to see and
experience how ordinary people are doing extraordinary things – all so that
they can finally vote and perhaps make a change.We are doing all we can to prevent the blatant vote rigging andfalsification of vote tabulations that took place in the past – but if we
are not successful and Mugabe is again able to deliver a victory for himself
and perhaps his Party and if Africa does not stand up for the ordinary
people here; I for one will call for international condemnation and a
withdrawal of all forms of assistance to Africa.Quite frankly, the attitude of the majority of African leaders to the anticsof people like Kibaki and Mugabe who have flagrantly abused the rights of
people to vote for the leaders of their choice is disgraceful. I said to a
number of others that Kibaki was not going to get away with his antics, but
apart from a minority of leaders and even fewer countries in Africa, he
would be allowed to get away with the fraudulent election results he is
claiming. Again it was left to outsiders – Koffie Annan and Ms. Rice to
eventually force the Parties to the table – my sympathies lie with the guys
who won the election and are now forced to share power with Kibaki. The role
of the new President of Tanzania and Chairman of the AU was however a breath
of fresh air.Can you believe its three weeks to go! My own feeling is let’s get this
thing over with and see what is left standing when the dust and smoke
clears. At least then we will know what we face in the remainder of the
year. We simply cannot go on as we are.On Tuesday next week the MDC will launch its policies for a new Zimbabwe. Ithink it is the most complete review of national policy that we have seen
since 1980. It constitutes a vision for a new Zimbabwe that is just and
inclusive and will respect our rights. When we win, this document will give
all Zimbabweans a vision for the future. It is slowly dawning on many
observers here that this might just happen!