It is fourteen months since Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) took the majority in parliament in Zimbabwe. It is almost a year since the unneeded second round of the Presidential election was held – unneeded as Morgan Tsvangirai had won the first round, I believe with a substantial lead, passing the required 50% plus one vote - from which Tsvangirai withdrew following the political violence against his supporters which saw 130-plus people die.

The first round Presidential election results were only released five weeks after the ballot, after ZANU PF took possession of the ballot boxes and took them away to a place as yet undisclosed - and then had the ‘result’ re-engineered to more acceptable levels, thereby necessitating the second round of voting.

Apart from Mugabe being “re-elected”, I do note that the pro-Mugabe Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has subsequently - albeit a full year after the fact - declared the election ‘free and fair’…!

One might be expectant of the ballot papers themselves being released to auditors or the like, but in Zimbabwe it doesn’t work like that.

We should also remember that the constituency results were posted outside each and every polling station. The MDC took note of the figures posted, and using simple mathematics, came out with their own results.

Announced by Tendai Biti, the now Finance Minister, the results were met with anger by ZANU PF - and they have seen their way clear to charge Biti with treason for announcing the MDC results before the ZEC had a chance to re-work the figures to something a little more palatable.

So, for reasons as yet unknown, the ‘results’ were accepted and the ‘unity’ government was prepared to take office.

But not before Mugabe has had various MDC elected persons arraigned in courts for a variety of crimes - ranging from plain cheating and vote buying to terrorism and banditry…

By so doing, Mugabe is attempting to thin out the MDC majority in parliament. The idea being that each seat would be contested in an ensuing bye-election. Notwithstanding that the agreement signed by the three principals (Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara) stated that: “the Parties hereby agree that for a period of 12 months from the date of signing of this agreement, should any electoral vacancy arise in respect of a local authority or parliamentary seat, for whatever reason, only the party holding that seat prior to the vacancy occurring shall be entitled to nominate and field a candidate to fill the seat subject to that party complying with the rules governing its internal democracy” - which Mugabe will ignore, nominating ZANU PF candidates in any bye-election.

Since the elections and the signing of various agreement, Mugabe has been stretching his legs, forcing his way into unilateral rule.
He has appointed governors - who will now stand down, but the unity government has to pay reparation to - and the RBZ governor and the Attorney General have been nominated and placed in office.

Unilateral appointments flies in the face of any ‘unity’ government - whilst Mugabe’s refusal to swear the Deputy Agriculture Minister, Roy Bennett, into office - means that cabinet remains incomplete.

Mugabe will not be rushed. He will not be hurried – and he will not be moved.

Everything that the initial ‘Memorandum of Understanding”, swiftly followed by the “Power-Sharing Agreement” represents to the people of Zimbabwe, comes to nothing as Mugabe and ZANU PF have contravened virtually every clause in those two papers.

Not the this would concern Mugabe as he has failed to stand up to his side of any political agreement since 1979… Just look close at the Lancaster House Agreement.

Mugabe is playing for time - almost on a daily basis - attempting to delay the inevitable.

He is aware that the departure of ZANU PF and himself from the hallowed halls of power will probably result in court appearances, for simple theft in criminal court to crimes against humanity in The Hague.

And Mugabe has no wish to speed up that process. Not only for himself, but for his senior loyalists.

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man