Elections Without Reforms A Waste Of Time - Chin'ono
Award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has criticised opposition leader Nelson Chamisa for calling for “proper elections” in Zimbabwe, arguing that holding elections without reforms is a waste of time.
In response to Chamisa’s comments, Chin’ono stated that elections “don’t work when dealing with a political thug like crookED Emmerson”, apparently referring to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Chamisa lamented that since the disputed 2023 harmonized elections, Zimbabweans have not experienced normalcy or peace, as scores of activists have been detained on what some commentators have described as trumped-up charges. Wrote Chamisa on X:
ZIMBABWE MUST HAVE PROPER ELECTIONS AND FIX BROKEN POLITICS
Following the discredited, illegal and disputed 2023 General Elections, Zimbabweans have not known normalcy or peace.
As of now, 78 families and a one-year-old child are without their loved ones. This is because the 78 political prisoners held different political views and dared to express themselves and exercise their freedom of association.
On the 16th of June 2024, these political prisoners were celebrating Africa Youth Day before being forcibly taken to prison where they remain 45 days later.
In addition, the families of Namatai Kwekeza (a human rights defender), Samuel Gwenzi (Civil society), Robson Chere (trade unionist), Promise Munkuli and Vusimuzi Moyo are without their loved ones for no reason other than their association with wanting a better Zimbabwe, advocating for women, young people, workers and speaking out against injustices.
Robson Chere’s family and friends are faced with the additional burden of fearing for his health given the injuries sustained during his arrest. Robson only wants better for the workers who sustain Zimbabwe.
The family of Bruce Moyo, a young Councillor from Bulawayo is without him because of exercising his political freedom of association as a young citizen and council representative.
Many other people (young and old) are spending nights in the prison cells after being taken abruptly and brazenly for no crime but being targets for simply exercising their constitutional freedom of association.
In Zimbabwe, being an active conscious citizen and being young has become a crime. The citizens, especially the young people, are persecuted for their beliefs and for wanting better lives.
In Zimbabwe, it has been turned criminal to be young.
This assault and onslaught on the citizens is a clarion call for unity across the political divide to condemn and rebuke these violations, violence and injustice.
Fellow citizens of SADC and all African countries, this can’t be civilized politics. This is bizarre, and abnormal and must be condemned by all progressives across the world.
Responding to Chamisa’s calls for “proper elections” in Zimbabwe, Hopewell Chin’ono argued that the country’s “broken politics” cannot be mended “through bogus elections” alone.
Instead, Chin’ono suggested that some other means are required to address the fundamental issues. Wrote Chin’ono:
We have been talking about elections for the past 24 years, but they don’t work when dealing with a political thug like crookED Emmerson!
Leaders should stop sanitising corrupt rule by repeating the same ineffective strategies of going into choreographed elections!
The only thing elections have provided is a few jobs for opposition members who go to Parliament, fight for cars and salaries, and collect kickbacks from crookED Emmerson as they did with the US$40,000 which I personally exposed in 2022!
Any attempt to railroad citizens into yet another rigged election without reforms will be condemned, and anyone attempting to do so should not complain when we say they are on crookED Emmerson’s payroll!
Nobody will ever be able to fix the broken politics through bogus elections, we must now use other means to deal with crookED Emmerson, elections are not one of those ways!
If there is another election without reforms, we will condemn anyone who gets involved in them and tell our people to stay home.
Let crookED Emmerson contest fake and rigged elections with his poodles!
More: Pindula News
