Zimbabwe has had disputed elections since 2000. The only missing link is electoral reforms and a united front. Without them, voting is a waste of time; except for those being voted for, who treat the process as nothing more than a job-securing exercise. Former South African President Jacob Zuma... once advised Zimbabwe’s opposition not to participate in elections without first securing reforms in 2013. They refused to listen, and have continued repeating the same mistake of aligning their political objectives with divine intervention and political miracles. Zimbabwe is exactly three years away from another election, yet there is no electoral reform campaign in place since the last vote. Only a fool would believe they can win against ZANUPF without reforms and a united front. There is no organised or united opposition. They will approach the next election as fragmented entities shouting empty victory slogans, giving ZANUPF more oxygen, as if they are on a ZANUPF pay roll. Once again, the suffering citizens will be used to legitimise a broken system and sanitise ZANUPF rule. They will knowingly vote in an election where the other participant has the election results in their pocket. The clarion call should be; No Reforms, No Elections—unless you are one of those feeding off ZANUPF’s trough while pretending to be in the opposition. Zimbabweans must wake up from this shameful slumber of being repeatedly used by political actors who now use elections as a business instead as a platform to transform the lives of our people. You cannot defeat a rigged system by playing by its rules; you only legitimise your own oppression by participating in rigged elections so that politicians can get jobs in Parliament and councils that rarely deliver anything meaningful. SADC or any other political body will never intervene unless you give them a reason to. Why should we expect them to act when the opposition tragically failed to use the last scathing SADC report, which clearly called for reforms? I have confirmed with two SADC presidents; Zimbabwe is not even on any agenda. So why should we expect a different election outcome when we remain silent for the entire term, only to bring out begging bowls in 2027/28 for yet another futile election? As we speak, Zimbabwe has no united or structured opposition movement. It only has snake oil salesmen pursuing individual political projects. Until there is a united front, do not waste your time on predetermined outcomes! For once, let us pretend to be a nation with some educated and wise people and not waste our time on useless things! No Reforms, equals No elections!!!! Without reforms, we lose the legitimacy of crying over rigged elections, because we did nothing between 2013 and 2018, did nothing again between 2018 and 2023, and are doing nothing about reforms now. One man or woman cannot and will never bring change; their limitations become the nation’s limitations. That is why Zimbabwe needs a movement, one that pushes for reforms and unites efforts against corrupt rule. I still hear the words of a senior Commonwealth election observer during the 2023 Zimbabwe elections: “I have covered more than 50 elections. I have never seen an opposition that did everything possible to make sure it didn’t win like in Zimbabwe. They lack strategy and behaving as if they are in a normal election where there is no cheating. They don’t even have election agents at all polling stations, it is crazy,” they said. Nothing has changed. I have always maintained that if a nation’s future is determined by one man or woman, that person’s limitations become the entire nation’s limitations, that is why a united front with many ideas is imperative. Zimbabwe needs a movement—one that focuses on the electoral reforms outlined in the SADC observer report, one that unites the people, and one that is led collectively, not like a family tuckshop called Zuruvi and Sons. We cannot keep blaming South Africa for endorsing stolen elections when we have failed to organise, mobilise, and push for the reforms needed to protect the people’s vote. A people that fail to demand reforms but queue to vote in rigged elections are not victims of tyranny, they are accomplices in their own betrayal.show more

Hopewell Chin’ono

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