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EU’s MDC script

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THERE was nothing surprising or unusual about the European Union (EU) Election Observer Mission (EOM) Report which was released last week with a whole lot of unfounded and unsubstantiated claims over Zimbabwe’s July 30 2018 harmonised elections.
It has been the norm for the West, particularly the EU, to use every available opportunity to tarnish the image of Zimbabwe and this latest move is no exception.
With it comes a fresh attempt to put Zimbabwe under the global spotlight all for the wrong reasons but as has been the case in the past, the world has managed to sift through the lies.
Presenting the EU EOM final report last week, deputy chief observer Mark Stevens claimed the electoral field had been marred by a biased state media as well as uncertainty over printing and distribution of ballot papers, among other issues.
These are issues that the MDC Alliance raised in the run up to the elections even though the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) clarified them through several rounds of dialogue with the opposition.
However, the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC), whose electoral principles guided the conduct of the Zimbabwean elections, have since endorsed the elections as free, fair and credible while matching their set standards.
Even though the report notes some positive developments in the conduct of the elections, it fails to hide its resentment of the country’s institutions.
“The right to stand was provided for, the elections were competitive and political freedoms during the campaign were respected. On election day, voters enjoyed the right to vote and both campaign and Election Day were largely peaceful,” reads the report in part.
“The introduction of a number of legal and administrative changes was welcomed, including increasing the number of polling stations, limiting voters to voting only at registered station, and limiting the number of excess ballots to be printed.
Based on EU EOM monitoring, the state broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), failed to abide by its legal obligation to ensure equitable and fair treatment to all political parties and candidates. State-owned TV, radio and newspapers, which dominate the media landscape, were heavily biased in favour of the ruling party and incumbent president in their election-related coverage.
Media operated in a generally free environment during the campaign and freedom of expression was respected.
The legal framework for media, while providing for fundamental rights, needs further improvement to bring it into line with the Constitution.”
Prior to the July 30 2018 elections, the EU had been working hard to interfere with the country’s electoral processes with little success.
History is the best teacher in this regard.
Let us go back to March 2017.
The EU announced it had unveiled a
€5 million package which, to all intents and purposes, was aimed at funding regime change agenda outfits.
In its loaded and revealing statement, the EU said: “The EU in Zimbabwe has strengthened its support to civil society with a fresh call for proposals to promote democratic participation, good governance and accountability as well as dialogue among different stakeholders in the country.
In total, the EU provides €5 million for proposals that address one of the two specific objectives.”
The US was coming from the other side of the Atlantic, frantically trying to pile pressure on ZEC and Zimbabwe.
In June 2017, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Carol O’Connel visited the country.
She was visibly disappointed by the slow pace of infiltration and publicly made her country’s anger known when she demanded a raft of political and economic reforms ahead of the general elections.
“The relationship with the Zimbabwean Government is part of the reason I am here,” she said.
“We are not trying to vet specific individuals from Zimbabwe, but we are looking to the Zimbabwean leadership and Government to make certain political and economic changes so that we can work robustly.”
We further go back in history.
The EU has been supporting the opposition from as far back as 2000.
The idea is to put in place a puppet government which surrenders the country’s control of the economy to the West.
In February 2002, the then MDC-T leader, the late Morgan Tsvangirai, acknowledged that his party was financed by European governments and corporations, which channelled money through British political consultants, BSMG.
An article in March 2008 by Stephen Gowans reveals the intricacy of the funding network.
Part of the article reads: “It would be truly naïve to believe, for example, that the International Centre for Non-violent Conflict and Freedom House, both headed by Peter Ackerman, member of the US ruling class Council on Foreign Relations, a New York investment banker and former right hand man to Michael Milken of the ‘junk bond’ fame, is lavishing money and training on civil society groups in Zimbabwe out of humanitarian concern.”
Michael Barker, Global Research, April 16 2008, sought to explain the reasons by observing that:
“Zimbabwe’s crime in the eyes of Washington is that it jettisoned the ruinous structural adjustment programme several years ago, rejected the neo-liberal economic model and redistributed land on a more equitable basis.”
Barker went further to argue: “It is not lack of democracy in Zimbabwe that worries Western elites.
It is the fact that democracy has produced a Government that those in the halls of power in Washington and Europe wish to remove.
What the West wants is to overturn democracy in Zimbabwe and impose a Government of its own.”
But Zimbabwe is not going to be distracted by sideshows from the EU and other entities who are opposed to Harare’s development.
The country is marching forward and will thwart any machinations aimed at destabilising it.

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