It prompted the party, through its unofficial spokesperson, Jonathan Moyo, to spew their usual vitriolic diatribe against Morgan Tsvangirai. Had the Prime Minister not intervened, chances are that Mugabe would have been able to announce a date for the harmonized national elections to suit his agenda.
Mugabe is well aware that his party is on the ropes, and will not win a free and fair election come rain or thunder.
Once he is allowed to announce an election date unopposed, it will be an uphill struggle to change the dates, and even if forces opposed to Zanu (PF) were to manage to force a change of date, it would be at a huge cost to the tax payers.
A big thank you to Prime Minister Tsvangirai for keeping an eye on the ball. Zimbabweans expect more of the same from you until dictator Mugabe is replaced in the forthcoming elections. Tsvangirai’s challenge is also a victory in that it thwarts President Mugabe’s intention to unilaterally announce a date for elections before reforms are made.
It gives SADC the opportunity to raise their voice, because if the Prime Minister had let it go, SADC would then have said they were not the ones to set dates for Zimbabwean elections.
I recall listening to Prime Minister Tsvangirai addressing a rally where he used a Shona expression “tamba tamba chidembo muswe ndakabata (try your dirty tricks on me, but you will not succeed)”, and this seems to be what is happening. – Benjamin Chitate, New Zealand
Post published in: Letters to the Editor