Chris Nqoe is back! Nkosinqobile Dube (Chris Nqo) is a Zimbabwean Law graduate
and also the Editor in Chief of dECK Magazine in Bulawayo. He has also been a speaker at Global Changemakers workshops as well as panels such as Al-Jazeera's The Stream, Channel Zim & Zimbabwean Radio.
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This is the point where I'd stick my tongue out and laugh
till my ribs crack. Doing all that and still managing to utter the words:
"I told you so".
I would be shouting those words at the top of my voice.
That's if the fate of an entire country did not depend on this electoral
outcome. I'd be saying that too, if the hopes, plans and dreams of millions of
Zimbabweans had not been dashed by the X's of just under 3.4 million of their
countrymen
But what exactly did me, Bongani and a few other analysts tell
you would happen or not happen? We told you to Vote No to the draft
constitution.[Click here for Chris' guest blog & here for mine].
That it was an imperfect compromise that would return to
haunt Zimbabwe. And on the first days of howling, cold and bitter August, those
words returned to haunt our lives.
My kindergarten self is again tempted to return to the What
If mode. What if Zimbabwe had heeded the call of progressive minds and voted No?
What if Zimbabweans had shown that the will of the people need not be
predetermined by the positions set by political parties? What If Zimbabweans,
for once in their independent lifetime took charge of their fate and demanded
what they really want?
What if, what if, what if? What if we didn't answer the
above questions? And instead focused on what next?
So many questions. However, in order for us to plan ahead,
we need to understand where we got it wrong. For my fellow countrymen, the
reality is starting to dawn on them, the future is uncertain. You see, in politics, there always has to be a plan. With a
plan there must be an end goal and to get there requires strategy. Good
strategy.
Now, let's look at the present state of affairs in Zimbabwe,
who appears to have had a good plan and the perfect strategy to achieve their
goal?
Yes, you're with me. Let's all say this at once: ZANU-PF.
And it all began in December 2012 at the ZanuPF Congress.
They started planning. Frustrated by the constant checks and balances from
their partners in the GNU, the revolutionary party decided they had had enough.
The GNU was always going to conclude and elections would be held.
The first point in the ZanuPF plan was to achieve the
seemingly impossible. Register one million new voters. The analysts laughed it
off, their parties in the GNU gave it scant attention. ZanuPF got to work.
From January 2013 they have been working at mobilising their
structures for Voter Registration, the referendum & subsequently,
elections. The end goal was elections. As you read this you're aware of the
Zimbabwe Election results of the year 2013. [Editors’ Note, if you are not,
check out their Wikipedia page here]
Let's say it all again, who won? ZanuPF!
Alas I have jumped the gun. For all this to have taken
place, so many processes had to kick it off.
Zimbabwe went to a referendum in March, at the behest of the
major parties in the GNU. They had come up with a document, in which they all
called for Zimbabwe to endorse. The COPAC Draft Constitution went to a popular
referendum and was voted for overwhelmingly. I called the Draft Constitution a risky compromise, in thisblog post. Laid down the principles on why Zimbabwe should #VoteNo.
But we were lone voices in the wilderness of Yes choruses. Legal scholars, NGO's, Political analysts, the MDC-T, ZANU-PF
and MDC-N all called upon Zimbabweans to #VoteYes. The MDC's all called for a vote Yes anticipating a victory
in the upcoming elections, basing it on blind hope and belief that Zimbabwean
would vote out ZANU-PF. ZANU-PF called for a Yes vote to get rid of the GNU and
win the elections based on a popular mandate.
Perhaps what is most striking in August 2013 is how all the
above players, are now singing from different hymn books. The discord is humorous
for us, the so called progressive minds.
The conductor of this choir is now ZANU-PF. The pitch of
voices has shifted. Whereas back in March they were heralding the dawn of a new
era, with a New Constitution, the mood is one of sombre realisation. "We
were cheated".
ZANU-PF is enjoying the chorus of discontent. For them, the
pieces have all fallen into place.
No. You were not cheated. You cheated yourselves. You went
into a game, without a strategy and without a plan. ZanuPF had one. Get more people to register to vote, #VoteYes for the Draft
Constitution so as to end this power sharing agreement, call for elections and
mobilise people to vote overwhelmingly for us. This has all been achieved.
Perfectly so. It was all part of the bigger plan to get back into total
control. ZANU-PF got here by getting the MDC's to endorse their own demise.
What if Zimbabwe had voted No? What if the new constitution
had been rejected by progressive Zimbabweans who saw the bigger picture? What
if we had all realised that by being told to Vote Yes, we were endorsing the beginning
of the end?
What if that realisation can't help us now?
Zimbabweans Voted Yes to the new constitution because the
dominant political parties told them to vote Yes. We did not bother to question
the motive, ideals and principles behind this supreme law.
Fast forward to August 2013. The signs point to a ZANU-PF
victory, the political party that called on Zimbabweans to endorse the unity
shown by its partners in the GNU and Vote Yes. On the dawn of their victory,
whispers have emerged that they are itching to correct the mistake of the New
Constitution.
In simple terms ZANU-PF
first goal in parliament and in power will be to amend the Constitution they
endorsed.
What if we had put a bump to the constitution, allowed more
time for fair voter registration, for a voters roll audit and to go into fair
elections prepared? What if we had voted No? Followed our collective conscience
as Zimbabweans, knowing what's best for our country and safe guarding the
pillars of democracy.
What if we had known that politicians look after their
interests first? Interrogated why they wanted us to Vote Yes to a draft
constitution that did not reflect the true will of Zimbabweans.
We never did all those things. Like the MDC's we followed
the ZANU-PF lead and were blindly led to a bleak and uncertain future. All
because we never questioned and realised that power lay in us Zimbabweans
saying No.
But again, we told you so. What if you had listened?
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