The Sunday News
Limukani Ncube
“There is the mark. Don’t argue. The forwards of England and Australia, competitive beasts strung out by the intensity of combat and packing down at an average of 120 kilos a man, fell obediently into line.
They did as they were told by (referee) Bryce Lawrence, irrespective of where they thought the scrummaging line might be. They did this out of respect for the referee, not the man necessarily, but for authority, the institution. To argue is plain wrong.
“Fast forward 24 hours from Twickenham to Chelsea. Martin Atkinson (referee) suffered 90 minutes of ritual dissent that at times bordered on abuse. At the more reasonable end of the spectrum Atkinson was met with subtle requests to explain himself. At the other he faced a pack of dogs.
In rugby the players understand that the referee’s decision is absolute, right or wrong. Protest is not an option. In football it is habitual,” wrote Kevin Garside for the Telegraph in November 2009.
The article might have been about sport, but it underlines the fact that respectful behaviour at whatever forum, must not necessarily be for the referee or the man or woman in charge, but for authority and the institution. Of course, some might argue that in politics, where there is contestation for power, crude tackles are bound to happen. Yes, but should they be directed at the referee or the opponent?
As the country inches closer to the 30 July harmonised elections, there has been outright dissent and vitriol thrown at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission by opposition political parties, particularly those under the banner of the MDC Alliance led by Mr Nelson Chamisa.
A Zec Commissioner, Mrs Netsai Mushonga last week reported death threats received on social media to the police, while Zec chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba has suffered verbal abuse across all platforms to an extent that during a demonstration against Zec organised by the MDC Alliance to press for what they said were electoral reforms, she was referred to as a prostitute by some marchers.
In short, Zec as an institution has been attacked by the MDC Alliance which has accused it of being unprofessional.
Nonetheless, the rationale behind going after Zec instead of other political parties or the ruling party which is contesting for political space as well, has been described as a desperate attempt by the MDC Alliance to create a “fallback position in the aftermath of the looming defeat” in the elections by discrediting the institution in charge of the electoral process so that the outcome of the election process can as well be deemed flawed by the Alliance partners and their supporters.
But more telling, it reveals fears of defeat by the MDC Alliance and that as it stands, there is little that it can say to poke holes in the standing of President Mnangagwa and the manifesto presented by his party Zanu-PF. An academic, Mr Blessing Jona from the National University of Science and Technology said Mr Chamisa and the MDC Alliance have deliberately chosen to attack Zec for political expedience, although he noted, it was bound to backfire.
“From my own way of looking at this issue, the MDC Alliance and Chamisa have decided to discredit the Commission so as to have it on public record that the electoral process had discrepancies and when they lose the election, they will have a fall-back position to say they have always raised issues that the playing field is not level.
“From Chamisa’s stand point, it would be absurd to attack another political party while Zec is there. But Chamisa knows that his party is broke and has not been able to carry out massive campaigns compared to Zanu-PF. His party is not visible on the ground.
They do not have posters in most areas and they don’t have billboards or adverts in newspapers to sell their candidates to the electorate. Their own visibility is questionable and they know that it might negatively dent their chances of winning the election and that is why they are raising all these issues of electoral reforms which they know will not happen and even saying the playing level is not even,” said Mr Jona.
He pointed out that some of the issues demanded by the MDC Alliance were unconstitutional as raised by other opposition players like Prof Lovemore Madhuku.
“Some of the issues they want should have been attended to by Parliament which comes up with laws and issues like monitoring the printing of ballot papers are actually unconstitutional. But amidst all that, Chamisa is actually shooting himself in the foot because he is creating doubts among some people who might have otherwise voted for him. He is sending mixed signals of whether his Alliance is part of the election or they will boycott, and is also confusing his supporters who might think it’s useless to go and vote since the playing field is uneven.
What he should be telling his supporters is that they are taking Zanu-PF head on, instead of all this useless noise. If you look at it, Zanu-PF is busy on the ground campaigning and it started long back getting its members to register to vote and even youths, while Chamisa is busy grand staging,” said Mr Jona.
He added that there were 23 presidential candidates and over 100 political parties, and why is it that Mr Chamisa and his Alliance were the only ones complaining about Zec.
“Chamisa must wake up and smell the coffee. Gone are the days when they were the only opposition and could afford to threaten boycott or boycott the elections so that they appear unfair. This time around there are many political players who have responded to the opening up of the democratic space so even if he is not in the race, other parties and presidential contestants will be there and the outcome will be acceptable.”
A political analysist, Mr Micheal Mhlanga, said the attack on Zec by the MDC Alliance was deliberate, but it shows how unprepared the party is for the election.
“They have been silent about political players and they choose to attack Zec, which is interesting. But the fact that they have been silent about other parties shows how unprepared they are for the election. What they are doing is to make a pre-emptive excuse of their demise after the 30 July election. Their issues are not hinged on outsmarting other political players as opponents, but they are hinged on what would declare this election as not free and fair. By challenging the process, they are creating grounds to challenge the outcome of the very same process.
“But the truth is they (MDC Alliance) are broke. They are simple transferring their internal failures to Zec. At MDC no one wants to admit the illegitimacy of Chamisa as president, no one wants to admit the fissures they have as an Alliance. But what they forget is that Zimbabweans are now tired of opposition politics and they would rather go with the establishment for a brighter future.
“Chamisa has nothing to say against President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF because the ruling party is now free of blemishes this time around, so the soft target becomes Zec. And if you go around the country everyone is convinced elections will be free and fair, and yet the opposition parties have no visibility among the electorate. The opposition has no resources, so attacking Zec is the only available option,” said Mr Mhlanga.
Nonetheless, Zec has said it is too late for any political party to blame it for not kowtowing to its demands that are not provided for in the constitutional provisions guiding the holding of elections. The commission said it has not been rigid but has gone far beyond legislative expectations to meet the demands of the parties and prove transparency.
Addressing a media and stakeholders forum in Bulawayo recently, Zec commissioner Dr Qhubani Moyo said nothing would stop the elections from being held.
“Zec is making it clear and emphatic that the elections would be held. In terms of the legislative framework, the Commission is following the rules.
There are some stakeholders that may not be happy with the way Zec is following the law. If they wanted things done in a certain way then they should have sought to make provisions for that in Parliament so that the Electoral Act reflects what they desire. The Commission finds itself falsely being accused of doing things improperly.
But in most cases those that are laying the accusations are ignorant of the legal provisions guiding the operations of the Commission and it is very unfortunate,” said Dr Moyo.
Dr Moyo lamented that Zec has witnessed serious violence against the Commission to the extent that chairperson, Justice Chigumba, was targeted individually by politicians.
“We have obviously seen violence against the Commission, very, very serious violence against the Commission. Violence in that there are certain political players that want the Commission not to do its work and in so doing they have targeted our chairperson in her capacity as a woman. In their demonstrations we have seen heinous acts that are unacceptable where they come in and label her hure (prostitute),” he noted, adding that generally the country was peaceful and conducive for a free and fair election.
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