Be Still My Beating Heart
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Foreign Affairs | Incompetent Leadership | Robert Mugabe | Zimbabwe — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Dare I hope? Dare I dream. Oh, wouldn't this be wonderful?!?!
With elections only eight days away, President Mugabe looks like being overwhelmed by a wave of support for the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as the 84-year-old leader's grip on power falters.
Mr Tsvangirai's formidable backing in Zimbabwe's urban areas has been consolidated since the election campaign began five weeks ago and now, after a series of forays into the poverty-stricken rural areas where the ruling Zanu (PF) party has hitherto held control, it is clear that Mr Mugabe has a fight on his hands there, too.
On Wednesday Mr Tsvangirai pushed into Mashonaland West, Mr Mugabe's home province, to draw mostly large crowds of exultant peasants responding to his chant of chinja! - Shona for change - in a region where until very recently it would have been almost impossible for his faction of the Movement for Democratic Change to campaign.
In the small farming town of Karoi, 124 miles (200km) north of Harare, at least 8,000 people filled the local rugby ground to give the 56-year-old former national labour movement leader an ecstatic welcome, singing handidzokera shure (no going back) and waving red plastic cards to signify Mr Mugabe's "sending off".
Of course, it should go without saying that we ought to be prepared for the same kind of inflation in Mugabe votes that we see in Zimbabwe's currency once the election actually takes place. But there is a chance--just a chance--that perhaps this time, Mugabe won't get away with it. Then again, Mugabe is denying political opponents access to food, so what do I know?
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Be Still My Beating Heart 3 Comments (0 topical, 3 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Yeah, but with Mugabe buying votes with raises for Zim's teachers and other public employees, soldiers and policemen being forced to vote under "supervision," and Tsvangirai threatening to withdrawl from the election if Mugabe's government fails to follow electoral law on the vote count I'm not sure I'd hold out much hope for any meaningful change, barring "intervention" from the military.
Mike
Jimmy Carter will make sure your heart is no longer troubled. A country needs stability in time of crisis.
And who are we to talk, with our skyrocketing inflation.
/snark
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Gone 2500 years, still not PC.
For the people of Zimbabwe & the world! We can hope & pray they are able to get rid of the true ogre of Mugabe. I do have to say, though, if Mugabe is able to "win" via vote-inflation we'll have Jimmy Carter on a fast plane to go & say it was a fair election...