2008 Articles 25 Dec Kingdom Come 21 Dec Christmas 15 Dec Step Forward 5 Dec Beginning 1 Dec Amendment 30 Nov Facilitation 26 Nov Genocide 24 Nov Running Out 17 Nov Crisis 15 Nov Somalia 12 Nov What Next? 8 Nov Leadership 2 Nov Chipo 1 Nov Rome Burns 29 Oct Failure 25 Oct High Noon 19 Oct Never Easy 10 Oct Abyss 8 Oct Filibustering 4 Oct Chaos in Zim 29 Sept A Mule? 21 Sept On Step 16 Sept The End 12 Sept New Beginning 11 Sept Deal? 6 Sept Consequences 3 Sept Need a Deal 2 Sept Dollar Died 31 Aug Steering 29 Aug Unstuck 23 Aug Betrayed 18 Aug The Devil 13 Aug 13 Aug 08 12 Aug Today 11 Aug Cliffhanger 8 Aug Whats Going On 27 Jul Progress 22 Jul Agree to talk 21 Jul Mbeki kicks 16 Jul Crunch Time 13 Jul Economics 9 Jul Reality Looms 2 Jul Where? 30 Jun Looking Glass 26 Jun Battle 22 Jun What Now? 21 Jun The Commitment 16 Jun Do or Die 13 Jun Morning After 10 Jun Closing Doors 26 May Current Outlook 24 May Fan Club 19 May Tyranny 17 May End Game 15 May Flushing 8 May Violence 6 May Bizarre Process 25 Apr Cornered 20 Apr Electoral Fraud 19 Apr Jesse 17 Apr This Farce 11 Apr The Devil 6 Apr Wounded Buffalo 1 Apr Dying Kick 31 Mar Politcl Tsunami 27 Mar Current Situ. 26 Mar 4 days to go 21 Mar 8 days to go 15 Mar Election Time 27 Feb Games Begin 17 Feb Public Office 11 Feb Choices 4 Feb Decision Time 26 Jan Ambushed 25 Jan The Struggle 20 Jan Truth or Fiction 12 Jan Mugabe Mistake 8 Jan Surprise 2 Jan Kenya Lessons
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Let the Games begin
We now have 5 weeks to go to the elections. A week ago we put our
candidates
up for nomination and I think we did quite well - we have almost all
Parliamentary seats covered and all Senate seats and about 80 per cent
of
the local government seats - quite an achievement when you understand
the
logistics and the time available.
I had a bit of a tussle - arrived at the Court to be told that the
Registrar
General (a true Zanu PF flunky) had said I was not a citizen. We
promptly
took the issue to our lawyers and after a few hours went back with a
court
order that said I was a citizen and should be allowed to file my
nomination
papers. All else was in order and at 21.30 hrs I was duly declared a
candidate.
My district is a mixed bag - two very poor high-density housing areas
and a
spread of medium density housing that is occupied by mainly middle
income
people. The majority are in the former - 17 000 voters and the
balance are
in the latter - 7000 voters. I am already in the hands of the
enthusiastic
and energetic MDC activists in the District and am being worked to
death by
all and sundry!
On Saturday we launched the main campaign in Mutare at Sakubva stadium.
We
planned to start at 12.00 hrs and the stadium was almost full at 10.00
hrs.
By the time we got under way I estimated the crowd at about 40 000. By
the
time Morgan spoke it was probably 50 000 to 65 000 - difficult to
estimate
but the stands were packed and we had to keep many outside the gates.
Morgan
got a huge reception and it was very colorful.
600 kilometers to the South and East the other main candidate was
launching
his campaign. Mugabe spent Z$3 000 000 000 000 on the combined birthday
and
launch bash in Beitbridge. Why on earth he chose Beitbridge is
anyone's
guess - we had a reception committee ready in South Africa and they
held a
rally there with a helium filled balloon that said 'You have had your
cake -
now beat it!' I think our balloon got more media attention than the
birthday bash and launch! Bob must have been furious.
All candidates are confidently predicting success - although come to
think
about it, that was one claim that Morgan actually did not make at
Sakubva.
The President spoke of the need for change and said that this election
was
in reality, a referendum on Mugabe's rule. He said that if elected
the MDC
would write a new constitution and then when this was implemented, he
would
hold fresh democratic elections.
The MDC has 5 white candidates for various posts - three ex farmers
all of
whom won their primaries in the seats they are now campaigning for. But
this
is a tiny proportion of the 2000 odd candidates over all. In the main,
real
working class men and women will represent the MDC. There are
exceptions -
two Professors from UZ are running and we have a sprinkling of business
people. But by and large our candidates reflect our support base -
most are
working men and women and the majority do not own a motorcar.
I have said it before and will repeat what many simply do not give
adequate
attention to - the MDC is a mass movement of the poor and
disadvantaged. I
said to my constituency at the first meeting we held with the leaders,
crammed into a tiny house in a high-density suburb, I am deeply
privileged
to be chosen to run on their behalf. It is a privilege and a
responsibility
that I, as one of the privileged minority can be so identified and
accepted.
As I sat on the grass at Sakubva I thought about what lies ahead of us.
We
were surrounded by tens of thousands of the ordinary people who had
walked,
hitched rides and then waited in the sun for up to six hours to hear
our
leaders speak. They had no food, no vendors roved the stands - there
were no
buyers and when it was all over they had to walk home, with the local
bus
now costing Z$5 million a trip there was no chance that the majority
could
afford the ride.
They are looking to us to put the economy back on its feet. With
collapse
all round us and inflation at a staggering 150 000 per cent or more per
annum, with only 7 per cent of the population still employed and the
shortages of all essentials - water, food, shelter, fuel, energy;
that is no
easy task. They are looking to us to put children back into school and
provide teachers and books. They are looking to us to refurbish and
staff
our hospitals, to make basic essentials affordable and provide the
basic
necessities.
I said to a Councilor in one of the wards, 'Reuben, do you see that
pothole?
On the 30th of March that is your responsibility!' If elected we will
inherit a country in a total mess and meltdown. We will have to move
swiftly
to restore macro economic stability and fill market shelves, it will
take
bold and courageous leadership and for a while we will have to all
tighten
our belts and make things work. Expectations, even though we are trying
to
manage them, will be high.
If we win - and I am sure we are going to win this time round for a
variety
of reasons, it will be a remarkable testament to an organisation that
for a
decade has fought a patient struggle against huge odds to win change
through
democratic and peaceful means. A remarkable tribute to ordinary people
who
have suffered and done extraordinary things.
As for the game itself, well just this past week the referee has given
us an
'electronic' version of the voters role - as required by new
legislation and
past Court orders, but all it contains are photographs of the voters
role -
all 6 million voters with a red line transposed across the face of
every
page. Completely unusable. We hear the Daily News is getting its
license -
the Minister has so instructed, but guess what, it will be two weeks at
least after the election. This is democracy, Mugabe style!
As for me, I am planning a party - the biggest street party you ever
saw,
for that day we win.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 27th February 2008
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