The MDC welcomes the ruling of the Supreme Court in Kenya
on Friday, September 1, 2017, which ruling set aside the results of the
Presidential election that was recently held in that country.
An election should be an occasion that affords voters the
right to freely and fairly choose their representatives. As long as an election
is marred by gross irregularities, it undermines the will of the people and in
the process, it becomes a direct attack on the concept of democracy.
We would like to applaud the judiciary in Kenya for being
bold and independent enough to come up with this kind of ruling in a very high
profile and politically sensitive case. Many a time, here in Zimbabwe, the
people have been denied the opportunity to freely and fairly choose a
government of their choice. The people of Zimbabwe will remember that the 2002
MDC Presidential election petition is still pending, more than 15 years after
it was filed in the courts of law. This is a classic example of the
bastardisation of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
The ruling by the Supreme Court in Kenya is historic and
ground – breaking. It gives a refreshing feeling that Africa is indeed rising.
Gone are the days when the judiciary should pander to the whims and fantasies
of powerful political forces; particularly those forces that are found amongst
the ruling elite. Going forward, we hope and trust that the IEBC in Kenya shall
be able to conduct a Presidential election re–run whose result will be credible
and legitimate; absolutely free from any reasonable contestation.
As Zimbabwe approaches the harmonised elections in 2018, we
call upon ZEC to fearlessly and resolutely exercise its constitutional mandate
to run a free and fair election. ZEC should flex its muscles and make it
unambiguously clear that it shall not tolerate or countenance any electoral
malfeasance from any quarter. In that way, ZEC would be able to gain the
confidence of the majority of Zimbabweans many of whom are still not entirely
convinced about the independence of our electoral management body. Put
differently, ZEC has to work extremely hard in order to gain the confidence and
trust of the voting public.
Zimbabweans are a peace – loving people who always
endeavour to peaceful ways of resolving their political conflicts. Our
judiciary should take a leaf from the ruling of the Kenyan Supreme Court and
appreciate that there is absolute honour and integrity in resolutely resisting
improper external pressures when handling court cases; particularly those cases
that are politically sensitive. A corrupt, biased and incompetent judiciary is
the catalyst to a dictatorship.
The MDC would like to wish the people of Kenya a free and
fair Presidential election re–run in the next two months. Voters should have
confidence and trust in not only the electoral processes but also in the
eventual outcome of an election. A rigged election can easily trigger political
instability and socio–economic turbulence.
Obert Chaurura Gutu
MDC National Spokesperson
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