South African President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team flew into the country this week to ensure that negotiators to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) complete their negotiations with regard to the election roadmap.
This follows the Sadc Troika Summit that recently resolved Zimbabwe should fulfil all the provisions of the GPA, halt political violence across the political divide and that the country should have a roadmap that will pave way for free and fair elections.
Zimbabweans are yearning for a free and fair, yet indisputable general election which will not throw the country back into political turmoil.
There is no doubt the protracted conflict in Zimbabwe between Zanu PF and the two MDCs has taken a heavy toll in terms of loss of human life, economic meltdown and erosion of the country’s democratic credentials.
Contrary to the pontification of President Robert Mugabe presenting himself as a victim of Western conspiracies, the events of the past few months have shown the “emperor has no clothes” after all.
The current situation in Zimbabwe can only be described as a “complex political emergency”. It is an incontrovertible fact that Zanu PF is struggling to survive against the torrential wave of public anger.
Its preferred method of survival defies all trappings of democracy.
Negotiators from the three main political parties have been meeting since Monday to thrash out an election roadmap.
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We believe there are new disagreements, and this is why the negotiators are failing to come up with something concrete, so that they can finalise the roadmap with Zuma’s facilitators.
The reason is that the negotiators are sticking to their respective political party positions.
This does not help us in any way as a country. We believe for the negotiators to come up with a common position, negotiations must be a give-and-take scenario.
The kind of intransigence exhibited by Zanu PF negotiators is not tolerated in a democracy. Why are the negotiators holding the country to ransom?
Despite all this, we call on the facilitation team to keep pressing and tightening the screws on the three main political parties, Zanu PF and the two MDCs.
That broadened facilitation, supported by additional international actors, should focus on the election roadmap that will deliver the country from the current political quagmire.
Zanu PF negotiators should, therefore, negotiate with the MDCs on a constitutional framework, detailed agenda and benchmarks for an election roadmap.
Zanu PF has the responsibility of dismantling the structures of violence that have been resuscitated all over the country.
War veterans and the youth militia that have been used to terrorise Zimbabweans should be stopped from carrying out such heinous acts.
The military should go back to the barracks and the police force depoliticised. Thus, Zanu PF should engage in such talks without reservations.
The MDCs also have a critical role to play if the negotiations are to bear any meaningful results for the ordinary Zimbabweans.
As a way of bridging the divide prevailing in the country, there is need for the MDCs to also consult widely.
They should maintain a united front in the talks and rebuild consensus with civil society organisations on a joint strategy to promote democratic change.
We believe that Sadc must continue to play its role of overseer and make sure that all parties are committed to the negotiation process. Zuma should continue to apply pressure on the Zanu PF establishment.
Increased pressure and intervention, including that from Sadc, the African Union and the West, is a categorical imperative at this stage.
Concessions to Zanu PF should only be made in exchange for true restoration of democracy.
