MDC-T`S SUNDAY RALLY MADE INTERNATIONAL NEWS!!!
"If you
have a cellphone, I want to see it!" shouted Nelson Chamisa, a young
politician at the rally. Thousands of arms were raised and thousands of mobile
phones glinted in the sun. Warned that Mugabe would resort to intimidation
against elderly voters in rural areas, Chamisa urged the crowd: "Send a
message: 'Parents, don't be scared.'"
Chamisa's plea
underlined how, even more than in 2008, this contest is also being fought with
mobile phones and on the internet, making it harder than ever for abuses to be
covered up. The young, urban, tech-savvy generation that flooded the heart of
Harare was a reminder that 89-year-old Mugabe is facing another resounding
defeat in his capital city. But with the president's Zanu-PF party likely to
fare better in rural areas, Wednesday'spoll remains on a knife-edge and could
lead to political deadlock with unpredictable consequences. Rival Morgan Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) estimated the crowd at its final election
rally on Monday at more than 100,000.
Whatever the
real figure, there was a vivid spectacle as a dusty field turned MDC red and a
jubilant crowd sang, danced, chanted, whistled, and waved flags within sight of
Zanu-PF headquarters. "Mugabe wants us to suffer," said one placard,
displaying the now defunct Zimbabwean dollar, while a man wearing a red mask
cavorted on stilts. The unbridled enthusiasm contrasted with a more muted
atmosphere at Mugabe's last campaign rally in Harare a day earlier. Since
joining Mugabe in a unity government in 2009, Tsvangirai has faced criticism
for making too many concessions, allowing corruption to seep into his party and
falling into a series of sex scandals. However, such disillusionment appeared
banished as he climbed on the platform to cheers and countless open-palmed
salutes. Tsvangirai framed the election as a contest between the old guard and
the new. "It is a choice between a bleak yesterday and a better tomorrow,
between authoritarianism and democratic governance … the choice is not just a
political choice, but it is a generational choice. Robert Mugabe belongs to the
generation which fought for our independence but now we belong to a generation
that is fighting for democratic change. Today's problems cannot be solved by
yesterday's people. The choice is between those who would like to defend the
status quo and those who would like to free the people of Zimbabwe."
Tsvangirai, who
has previously been assaulted, charged with treason and subject to four
suspected assassination attempts, preached a message of reconciliation that
echoed Mugabe's own at independence in 1980. "As I stand before you, I am
a survivor," he said. "I was beaten, I was treated like a common
criminal. But I am not bitter. I have reflected on everything that happened to
me and my family and I have forgiven my tormentors. "I do not want to
become a prisoner of bitterness and revenge. I am a builder, not a destroyer …
in our Zimbabwe there will be no losers. There is a place for everyone. Why
should we destroy the house where live?"
Prosecuting
Mugabe for crimes committed during his 33-year rule appears to be off the
table. To laughter from the crowd, Tsvangirai, said: "I want President
Mugabe to enjoy his retirement in peace and comfort in his homeland. I pray the
Lord give him long life so I can show him how to lead the nation."
The MDC leader
warned the election is still plagued with irregularities, claiming he had not
yet seen the voters roll even though he is legally entitled to do so. The party
claims voter registration was fixed to favour rural areas rather than its urban
strongholds. "For a long time the people of Zimbabwe have been short
changed in the way elections are conducted," he said. "Don't dare do
it again."
The size of
Monday's crowd suggested that Tsvangirai, making his third attempt to defeat
Mugabe, still commands huge loyalty. Surveying the massed ranks of red,
Chamisa, the MDC organising secretary sporting a red suit and red tie, claimed:
"This is the final nail in the coffin of dictatorship. Harare is emphatic
against Zanu-PF. This rally is game over. Mugabe is defeated. Nobody can stop
an idea whose time has come. The river of change is overflowing."
Petina Gappah,
a writer and Open Society fellow, expressed surprise at the scale of the rally.
"If I was Zanu-PF watching this, I'd be very scared."
Anyone wanting
to rig the election must reckon with the age of instant communication. Mobile
phone penetration in Zimbabwe has soared from an estimated 13% four years ago
to 85% today. The website Simukai is encouraging voters to wait for the results
at their polling station and send them by text message to a South African
number. Other sites, Facebook groups and Twitter feeds are providing rapid
updates including outlets for reports and photographic evidence of violence. Among
the biggest hits is the Facebook page of "Baba Jukwa", a
self-proclaimed disaffected insider of Zanu-PF who since March has been leaking
details of high-level party meetings, allegations of vote rigging, and
embarrassing gossip. Baba Jukwa, whose identity remains a mystery, has nearly
300,000 Facebook "likes".
Gappah added:
"I think technology is going to be very important. We've seen the Baba
Jukwa phenomenon. Every Zimbabwean has a cellphone so the message gets to the
deepest rural areas."
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