MDCs dominance: Change is inevitable

As the Zanu (PF) moribund dictatorship is slowly but surely collapsing, the rise of the MDC became spontaneous. The majority of the people of Zimbabwe rejected the Zanu (PF) dictatorship a long time ago; in fact as long ago as around 1990. Although regular elections have been held in Zimbabwe since independence, all right-thinking people know, for certain, that these elections were marred by massive intimidation, violence, ballot box stuffing and all sorts of shenanigans.

The birth of the MDC in September 1999 thus brought a breath of fresh air to the Zimbabwean political landscape. For the first time since independence in 1980, Zanu (PF) was confronted by a massively popular, national and broad-based political opponent that had the muscle to peacefully wrest power from the incumbent regime.

Combat mode

Fearing for its very survival as a political party, Zanu (PF), since the formation of the MDC in 1999, has engaged combat mode. This is a crudely intolerant and morbidly violent mode of political existence that has perfected a scorched earth policy; a policy that ensures that as Zanu (PF) faces its inevitable disintegration, the whole nation of Zimbabwe should also collapse with this party. This scorched earth policy is the very anti-thesis of patriotism; it ruthlessly decimates anything good that is still left in Zimbabwe. It is never easy to dismantle a deeply-entrenched dictatorship, a dictatorship that had become a way of life in Zimbabwe for the past three decades. The MDC has given the dictatorship a rude awakening. The resounding victory of Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC during the harmonised elections held on March 29, 2008 was the last straw for the dictatorship.

The popularity of the MDC dazzled and puzzled the dictatorship. They didn’t know what hit them. Until now, most Zanu (PF) functionaries are still in need of therapy and counselling to reconcile them with the massive victory of the MDC in March 2008. The fact of the matter is that the people’s victory of March 2008 was not an accident. Some of us had seen it coming. Whilst Zanu (PF) believed its own propaganda to the false effect that its support base was in the rural areas, the MDC election campaign was slick, incisive and hugely effective. While Zanu (PF) used intimidation, machetes and knobkerries to bludgeon the rural voters into submission, the MDC resorted to a campaign of preaching peace and tolerance.

They moved around spreading the message of hope and real change. They won the hearts and minds of the people of Zimbabwe; more so in the rural areas where Zanu (PF) falsely thought they were most popular. To this very day, the majority of the people of Zimbabwe no longer support Zanu (PF). Even if the dictatorship still manipulates and controls both the print and electronic public media, the increasing popularity of Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC is breath-taking; it is simply unbelievable.

Real change

Real change is coming. That’s for sure. However, the dictatorship will not go away without a fight. History has taught mankind that a cornered dictatorship is at its most lethal point. It is capable of delivering a vicious knock-out punch to anyone and/ or anything that it perceives as a threat to its continued existence. Going forward, we should be more focused and tactful in order to ward off the dictatorship’s last desperate offensive to cling to power. To begin with, the constitution-making process will be deliberately targeted for disruption. Why? Because the dictatorship knows that as soon as a new people-driven constitution is in place, the freedom train will be fast approaching its final destination. They know that Zanu (PF) will never win a free and fair election. In fact, they will do everything within their power to sabotage the constitution-making process. The MDC’s biggest trump card is simply that the majority of the people are on our side.

While the MDC is basking in the blaze of popular support; we should not under-estimate our political adversaries. Day and night our competitors are plotting against us. They would like to weaken and divide us. Just witness the manner in which Ignatious Chombo is going all out to ” protect ” the Chitungwiza councillors who were recently dismissed from the party on allegations of corruption. While corruption and Zanu (PF) are two sides of the same coin, in the MDC, we have vehemently and vociferously rejected corruption as a way of life. That is as it should be. Those MDC cadres who prefer practising corruption should promptly join Zanu (PF); the natural home and haven of corruption.

The MDC is guarded by the principle of peaceful democratic resistance. Using hammer and tongues, the dictatorship has persistently sought to crush the people’s peaceful resistance. We take comfort in the fact that good can never succeed over evil. In the end, the people shall triumph. They will achieve real change; sooner rather than later. Victory is certain.