The Sunday News
Vincent Gono, Features Editor
The country is headed for a watershed harmonised election not so long from now and a lot of pertinent issues have been raised with regards the election discourse within the three phases which are pre-election, election and post election.
This year’s election is a lot more different from all other elections that the country has had in the previous years where not only has there been changes in the faces and plurality of participants but in the sense that social media is now so much in use and has the capacity of causing upset, disharmony as well as influencing and inspiring certain political actions than ever before.
And those in charge of elections in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) admitted at a recent Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) media workshop in Bulawayo that challenges posed by social networking sites in relaying unofficial information were capable of sending the wrong political signal to both political parties and the population at large.
Different political faces
On the different faces in contest, the nation has witnessed the death of former opposition — MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and the ultimate birth of two factions under the same party where one is led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa and the other led by Dr Thokozani Khupe with a wrangle for political reins of the party still ongoing.
Although Advocate Chamisa seems to command a large following judging by the numbers at the two’s different gatherings so far, Dr Khupe has always promised to be brewing a shocker that will confirm her as the legitimate leader of the MDC-T. As for how and when, the details are still sketchy but there seems to be some excitement in her camp. Maybe they know something that everyone else doesn’t know.
Not only are there new political faces in the MDC-T following the demise of founding president — the late Mr Tsvangirai, internal reforms in the ruling party has brought to the fore a new face in the person of President Emmerson Mnangagwa who took over from the former party strongman Cde Robert Mugabe whose face faded into the political background of both party and government, albeit in a controversial way with attempts to resuscitate his career through the Cde Ambrose Mutinhiri-led National Patriotic Front (NPP) derided by a good majority as absurd.
The former president has been at the helm for as far back as we could all remember as an independent nation, first as Prime Minister from 1980 and President from 1987 until November last year.
His legacy has been dented by the court of public opinion that has found him guilty of flouting the principles and basic tenets of democracy and for failing to be a good dancer who knows when to leave the stage, only to be removed when all the energy has been exhausted and when no one could no longer cheer him on.
The new administration has however, promised a departure from the previous way of doing things, starting this election where for the first time anyone who so wishes to observe the elections has been invited.
“The elections will be free, fair and credible,” has been the mantra of President Mnangagwa ever since he assumed office. He has re-engaged the international community and other former nemesis of the country, thereby removing the country from its not so splendid isolation.
Where previously the main political contest was between Mr Tsvangirai and Cde Mugabe, it is the political cast that has now changed where we now have President Mnangagwa tussling for the highest political office with Advocate Chamisa and Dr Khupe, whichever leader the MDC-T supporters legit while other political parties in their multiplicity follow distantly.
Social networking sites
Another whole dimension to this year’s election that sets it apart from previous elections is that of social media. Technology has brought in a whole new way of efficacy in passing on messages and it is both used and abused depending on the motive. WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Skype and many other messaging platforms are now more in use than before and the world has lived to see a lot of negative political events and processes being inspired and influenced by the use of social media.
The political revolts in North Africa were located in context of social media use and abuse while xenophobic attacks in South Africa were also oiled by social media. It is therefore in this regard that the country should be wary of similar abuse of social media in both phases of its election processes.
Social misfits can use social media to incite violence against political opponents in the run-up to elections although those mandated to deal with elections should be more worried about the election and post election phases especially before the politically emotive announcement of elections.
It is given without doubt that social media, if not closely monitored may cause unease within the political population where imagined results will be shared on social networking sites before the official announcement is done. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said there was little they could do to monitor or police the messages on social networks as the country heads for the elections only urging the population to be responsible with what they decide to post on the different platforms at their disposal.
Zec commissioners Mr John Chigaru and Faith Sebata admitted the reality of social media and its effects and said there was a challenge in controlling whatever would be churned. They urged the country’s populace to be responsible saying it was wrong for anyone to announce the results before an official announcement was done.
“There is a challenge in policing social media networks. But we implore the people to exercise restraint and to wait until the official results are announced. It is illegal for anyone to announce results of any election contest other than Zec,” the commissioners concurred.
Asked what their response to pre-election prophesies was, Commissioner Chigaru said they perceived prophecies made on elections not as facts but just as opinions.
“Prophecies should not be taken as statement of facts but as opinions. We have a whole lot of prophesies that were made that never came true. Even in the Bible not all prophecies came out to be true. Believing or not believing is subject to the person,” he said adding that they were not worried with the prophesies on election outcome.
