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Morgan Tsvangirai

It has become predictable that Zimbabweans go to the polls and MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and his party participate, lose and refuse to accept the outcome. It is clear that to Mr Tsvangirai and his backers, an election is only free and fair if his party wins. We saw this in the 2008 harmonised elections where the MDC-T had a one-seat advantage over Zanu-PF in the House of Assembly despite losing the popular vote countrywide.

The MDC-T leader also accepted the results of the first round of the presidential race in which he led President Mugabe, even though the law is quite clear that in failing to breach the 50 percent plus 1 vote threshold, the MDC-T leader could not be deemed winner, he has harped on that result as the final tally for Election 2008.

Mr Tsvangirai has stubbornly refused to recognise the runoff result in which he was soundly trounced by President Mugabe.
Mr Tsvangirai claimed the poll was marred by widespread violence, even though by his own admission, his supporters gave as much as they took.

The bottom line, Mr Tsvangirai’s rejection of the just-ended harmonised election results is consistent with his frivolous character.
He is just wasting everybody’s time.

We hope everyone is now alive to the type of person Mr Tsvangirai is. A man who not only insults our leaders but also wastes everyone’s time by rejecting what he would have been party to.

A few examples would suffice here.
In the run-up to the inclusive Government, Mr Tsvangirai proposed co-sharing Home Affairs; when his request was granted, he changed tack claiming he wanted sole control.

He asked that the talks be referred to the Troika; when the Troika convened in Mbabane, Swaziland, he refused to go, opting to spend the day playing golf with a Western envoy in Harare.

When the Troika failed to break the impasse, he asked for a full Sadc summit.
His wish was granted and when the summit endorsed the Troika decision that Home Affairs be co-shared, Tsvangirai again refused to abide by the decision, claiming he wanted the African Union to intervene.

Put simply, this man had no mind of his own.
There is nothing President Mugabe, Zanu-PF or Sadc can do to make him see reason because he believes he answers to a higher deity — his Western gods.
Anyone doubting this should ask why Western ambassadors always hovered at all summit venues, if they were not there as puppeteers.

Its clear that the position Mr Tsvangirai was agitating was not his own, but belonged to the section of the world represented by the envoys.
The interests Mr Tsvangirai was championing were again not of his constituents, but the handlers who were within earshot.

We all know the Anglo-Saxon position on the just-ended elections.
The Westerners — who did not even observe the elections — have long declared that the only elections they will accept are ones won by Mr Tsvangirai.

An entire nation cannot be held to ransom simply because someone wants to honour a contract he entered into with his principals.
Zanu-PF must never forget that its contract is with the people, which is why it prevailed in the harmonised elections.

Similarly, President Mugabe got a resounding mandate from the people; that mandate is about forming a Government to serve the people.
We hope the MDC-T leader will come to his senses and stop wasting the court’s, and everyone’s time.