Six Political Facts concerning the Zimbabwe Election 2018

By Lenin Tinashe Chisaira

It has been long since I visited this blog, mainly as a result of settling in Ireland for my studies and also being away from Zimbabwe. However, I have made some observations which I ought to share about the Zimbabwe Election in 2018. The contest is likely to take place in the period between June and August 2018. The main contestants seem set to be President Emmerson Mnangwagwa of Zanu-Pf and Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance. Anyway here are my six political facts.

1: The Zimbabwe election 2018 is an election without an alternative. ED will woo UK-based, and Chamisa will woo US-based capitalists. Only opportunists see a choice between the two.

MDC Alliance leaders Nelson Chamisa (far left) and Tendai Biti (third from left) reporting to the US Congress in Washington DC (December 2017)

2: Zanu PF has purged economic empowerment factions and any semblance of progressive economic policies and seeks to overturn its own land reform programme.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa with International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing DirectorChristinene Lagarde at the WEF 2018.

3: MDC Alliance has purged workers from leadership. I struggle to find ex-trade unionists with any real power in the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions-formed opposition party. Now its led by wealthy lawyers and business consultants

4: Prez Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa have been in the same government before. That is in the Government of National Unity (2008-2013). Both have been around for at least 15 years in Parliament or Government in Zimbabwe

5: Both Zanu-PF and MDC Alliance use and abuse excitable and unemployed youths under the hashtags #EDhasMyVote and #GenerationalConsensus respectively.

Zanu-Pf youths dance at the launch of the #EDHasMyVote Campaign in Harare.

MDC Alliance #GenerationalConsensus organisers

6: In the Zimbabwe 2018 elections there is nothing new & whoever wins, the country  is headed for a period of human rights abuse, social and economic disaster.  The hope is in progressive activists and campaigns fighting back.
_____

Follow on Twitter @LeninChisaira