Wow! My last post was just gay...I should really proof-read things before I write them - a skill I'm yet to perfect - I get bored very quickly you see. Still though, at least I have enough focus in me to complete a coherent sent....
...just kidding. OK, that was a bad joke, but I'm no stand-up comedian so what did you expect. You know what else is a bad joke though? The recent elections in Zimbabwe - my homeland. And, just as a side note, in case you were wondering - I'm not black. I only say that because one of my friends recently came up to me and said she was puzzled by the fact that I wasn't black even though I was born in Zimbabwe. She had been drawn in by the recent publicity the country had received in the media and was finding it tough to make the connection between seeing only black people on the news and the concept of a person, me, from Zimbabwe not being black. I found this hilarious and was only not offended because the depth of my mirth didn't allow me to be.
Anyway, as a socio-political issue (yes, I use big words), the recent election fiasco is Zimbabwe is very interesting. I must hand it to the old man (Mugabe) and his cronies - they managed to successfully divert the worlds attention just enough to enable them to 'steal' the election. And before you start saying run-off this and run-off that - it's not going to happen. Think about it, everything that has happened between election day (or even before) has been in the complete control of the ruling party - a control which was so implicit that it seemed like they were losing control. By focusing on the parliamentary results, Zanu-PF had effectively turned attention away from the most important results of all - the presidential results. Contesting the parliamentary results had more or less the same effect.
...just kidding. OK, that was a bad joke, but I'm no stand-up comedian so what did you expect. You know what else is a bad joke though? The recent elections in Zimbabwe - my homeland. And, just as a side note, in case you were wondering - I'm not black. I only say that because one of my friends recently came up to me and said she was puzzled by the fact that I wasn't black even though I was born in Zimbabwe. She had been drawn in by the recent publicity the country had received in the media and was finding it tough to make the connection between seeing only black people on the news and the concept of a person, me, from Zimbabwe not being black. I found this hilarious and was only not offended because the depth of my mirth didn't allow me to be.
Anyway, as a socio-political issue (yes, I use big words), the recent election fiasco is Zimbabwe is very interesting. I must hand it to the old man (Mugabe) and his cronies - they managed to successfully divert the worlds attention just enough to enable them to 'steal' the election. And before you start saying run-off this and run-off that - it's not going to happen. Think about it, everything that has happened between election day (or even before) has been in the complete control of the ruling party - a control which was so implicit that it seemed like they were losing control. By focusing on the parliamentary results, Zanu-PF had effectively turned attention away from the most important results of all - the presidential results. Contesting the parliamentary results had more or less the same effect. False Hope
This allowed the ruling party enough time to twist the presidential results to their own ends. But this is only the tip of the iceberg - the real party piece began when all the parliamentary results were confirmed - giving MDC a majority; giving the MDC and the world false hope and luring
everyone, in essence, into a false sense of security. What does a person do when they feel secure? They relax, stop contesting and stop suspecting so much. It felt like the whole world breathed one big sigh of relief when the parliamentary results were fully released. But Mugabe was acting like a master general from the beginning. Holding out baits to his enemy, giving him small victories while knowing, all the while, that the ultimate victory would be his. Attacking in small bursts to breakdown his enemy (the recent beatings of MDC supporters, the raiding of the MDC HQ in Harare), Mugabe knew that if faced with a presidential run-off Tsvangirai would think twice before running again.
This is the case now - Tsvangirai is effectively in hiding outside Zimbabwe, while the MDC are lost without a leader. I sincerely hope that Tsvangirai plucks up the courage to go back home and lead his people because he would surely win a run-off, but I also hold a begrudged pride for Mugabe and the Zanu-PF - they pulled the wool over the worlds eyes and the people of Zimbabwe, and even their own supporters in an ingenious manner. The way it looks now, Mugabe may never have to give in to the "Machinations of the British" ever again...
everyone, in essence, into a false sense of security. What does a person do when they feel secure? They relax, stop contesting and stop suspecting so much. It felt like the whole world breathed one big sigh of relief when the parliamentary results were fully released. But Mugabe was acting like a master general from the beginning. Holding out baits to his enemy, giving him small victories while knowing, all the while, that the ultimate victory would be his. Attacking in small bursts to breakdown his enemy (the recent beatings of MDC supporters, the raiding of the MDC HQ in Harare), Mugabe knew that if faced with a presidential run-off Tsvangirai would think twice before running again. This is the case now - Tsvangirai is effectively in hiding outside Zimbabwe, while the MDC are lost without a leader. I sincerely hope that Tsvangirai plucks up the courage to go back home and lead his people because he would surely win a run-off, but I also hold a begrudged pride for Mugabe and the Zanu-PF - they pulled the wool over the worlds eyes and the people of Zimbabwe, and even their own supporters in an ingenious manner. The way it looks now, Mugabe may never have to give in to the "Machinations of the British" ever again...
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