As with every election since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, ZANU-PF has perfected the system of rigging. The majority of the election cycles since then have been marred with accusations, and most Zimbabweans will have memorized the entire process, including that the results will and have been rigged.
Fear and corruption plague each and every election in Zimbabwe. Whilst the people expect these systematic failures, it is the growing hopelessness amongst the people that is deeply worrying. To emphasis this, listen to Michael Sibangilizwe Nkomo, President of ZAPU; Indeed this link cites instability within SADC due to Mnangagwa's "meddling"
""Immediately after independence, minus freedom in 1980, a disturbing and false security threat was created by your government {ZANU PF} and apartheid South Africa, claiming instability in Matabeleland and the Midlands. Your party’s {ZANU PF} appetite for a one-party state compelled your government to go into an unholy alliance with Apartheid South Africa in an effort to destroy the long-standing progressive alliance of ZAPU/ZPRA and ANC/Umkhonto weSizwe whom you viewed as a threat to your respective governments.
Dissidents sponsored by your party {ZANU PF} and those of 'Super ZAPU' created by Apartheid South Africa created havoc in Matabeleland and Midlands as a prelude to the genocide that was to follow. This operation code named Gukurahundi turned to target Ndebele Speaking people and the whole world kept mum.""
From an "open letter to E D Mnangagwa from Michael Sibangilizwe Nkomo, ZAPU President dated 13th January 2024
Proving just how undemocratic these elections have been, the police has a tendency of shutting down rallies for the opposition, from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) era and the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), and arrested many of its supporters.
As if to legitimize their rigging, the current Zimbabwean government recently signed a new law, The Patriotic Bill, that could result in the death penalty of Zimbabweans deemed to have betrayed the national interest, unsurprisingly has caused further suppression of any dissent from the current ruling regime.
The dispute from the recent 2023 election has only triggered a mass exodus of more Zimbabweans, because there’s nothing left for them in their mother land, Zimbabwe. Everyone wants to leave, and they cannot be blamed for this feeling. This is especially the case now as Zimbabwe is currently experiencing its highest inflation, and basic public service provisions are failing, including poor access to medication and primary.
It is so easy to blame Zimbabweans for not fighting back, especially as sheltered members in the diaspora who are at a distance from the state’s violence. Instead, our role should be organise around the resistance of the people on the ground.
It should also be noted that the citizens in the diaspora also feel the same pain and also hope for a better future in a free democratic, Afro futuristic Zimbabwe. The least that they can do is to speak out about the evil schemes of the current government and a hope to vote as their constitutional right. Like the majority of every other Zimbabwean they are refugees living in exile, in foreign lands where they have been forced to make their homes.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe states that citizens who have reached the age of 18 years may vote in local and national elections. However, the Electoral Act states that only Zimbabwean citizens who are on diplomatic missions, civil servants and members of the armed forces on external missions may vote from abroad. This legal requirement effectively disenfranchises millions of Zimbabwean citizens who live and work in other countries. However this Electoral Act is at odds with Zimbabwe's hard fought Constitution. Read the Commonwealth recommendation in their Final Report on the {highly disputed} August 2023 Elections.
""The government and ZEC should explore avenues for extending the constitutional right to vote to Zimbabwean citizens who are not residing or no present within Zimbabwe on polling day."" SEE LINK to Article
Zimbabwe has more than three million people in different Southern Africa countries, and nearly a million of its citizens in the UK, North America and other countries outside Africa. This means that millions of Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora may not vote in Zimbabwe’s national elections. If these people are allowed to vote this means that any of the political parties in Zimbabwe could benefit from Zimbabwean citizens with the diaspora vote.
However, most politicians from ZANU-PF view Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora as an unpatriotic, angry and less engaged group. Therefore, when citizens are labeled unpatriotic, it is unlikely that ZANU-PF political matadors will enable these citizens abroad to vote in the country’s national elections. This instills a lot of fear to ZANU-PF that the citizens might become ‘ irrational’ and vote for the opposition parties. This homogenizes the political affiliations of Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora.
This view suggests that ZANU-PF politicians calculated that giving the diaspora the right to vote might undermine their rule, which argues that ZANU-PF rhetorical support for democracy is to put into practice only as long as its hold to power in not endangered by elections.
The greed of our leaders for power has turned one of the best countries into an open air prison for its people. Whilst Zimbabweans continue to fight, and resist, the only thing greater than our hope for change is the grief that we feel for Zimbabwe’s potential.
With just strong words and reports to go by from the United Nations (UN) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the lack of direct action shows a clear governance failure on the international front. But one thing is certain, the only people who will save Zimbabwe, are Zimbabweans themselves.