Upcomming elections in Zimbabwe

Mugabe was elected in 1980 as president of a none racist Zimbabwe.

Only he became paranoid and obsessed by power. He destroyed all gains he and his freedom fighters fought for. The elite of the ZANU-PF party destroyed the ideals of a free democratic Zimbabwe.

He should have been reformed by a workers revolution long ago. But no, the only opposition force to Mugabe (Morgan Tsvangirai's party Movement for Democratic Change.... The MDC) rather works with the devil than opposing him.

Zimbabwe's economy is slowly recovering from a near decade-long crisis which saw supermarkets resemble empty warehouses because of hyperinflation which once peaked at 231 million percent, forcing daily price increases.

The crisis led the country's two main political blocs into a power-sharing government to try to mend the economy.

There is going to be a draft constitution which will be put to a referendum ... after that they will then have general elections.

It must be remembered that the decision to launch the vicious, violent and deadly land grab was launched after a referendum for a new constitution was rejected by the population in early 2000. Mugabe reportedly ordered the land grab to begin in a fit of rage at having been rejected by the population.

Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe, tells the BBC of his desire to remain in power.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12028675

Sadly, I am old enough to remember how Mugabe rose to power. I can still remember watching news reports with my Dad as events unfolded in Rhodesia. My Dad saw it as a positive move back then -- I don't think anybody foresaw the monster that Mugabe would become. They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely - that definitely happened to Mugabe.

Personally, I don't think a great deal will change even if Mugabe is removed from office. In order to effect his regime of terror, Mugabe has surrounded himself with unscrupulous people -- and they will control the army when he finally goes. These people are nothing but gangsters disguised as politicians and you can bet they won't want to lose any of their income generating rackets.

Sorry Meety, I fear that Zimbabwe won't be escaping the grip of tyranny for some time -- especially now that the diamond fields have been discovered. Greed will continue to destroy the people of this country. The greed will not only manifest itself in the form of Mugabe's closest advisors and military leaders -- but it will also come from the West -- who have, hitherto, been noticeably absent from Zimbabwe because it offered nothing in return.

Nothing that is, except giving the ordinary people of Zimbabwe some hope. We all know that is not worth our trouble.

With regret, I totally agree with you, space.

The internet is by nature democratic. Will it restore democracy in Zimbabwe? Definitely not by itself and this is why it is imperative that we build movements or audiences around particular products whose founding principles are truth and the pursuit of social justice. Only if this is successful, democratic alternatives might happen.

While it's tempting to hold out hope that reports of Mugabe's imminent demise are true, there is very little about Zimbabwe's history or Mugabe's own behaviour to suggest that he would ever retire without handpicking a successor, or that he would ever be forced out of office without a fight.

Mugabe will have to be given quite the golden parachute to make that happen. He still has support from the military and unless the military sees the writing on the wall and chooses to follow the election results that show the opposition clearly winning, they may continue to enable Mugabe's hold on power to the detriment of all Zimbabweans.

Are the elections now to be postponed?

Calls for elections to be postponed are not new. Given the 2008 post-election violence ... concerns about the dilemma of holding polls in 2011 are certainly justified. But there could be no guarantee that delaying the votes would make Mugabe fully comply with Global Political Agreement. So an election could well be a daunting, but better option to undertake.

It is clear that as things stand, while Mugabe may stay on, he will leave behind a negative political legacy that damages not only ordinary Zimbabweans but the country that used to be the breadbasket of Southern Africa.

Despite the country’s vast diamond and other mineral resources, the country needs an elected administration that could turn around the country’s fortunes.