Weaver Press

Defying the Winds of Change, Zimbabwe’s 2008 elections.

Edited by Eldred Masunungure,

Weaver Press, 2009. 175 pp.

REVIEWED IN MUKAI/VUKANI

By Father David Harold Barry, Director Silveira House

NO. 1 51 February 2010


‘ZANU PF fought for you, for your rights, land and a bright future This legacy should not simply be vanquished by the stroke of a pen at the ballot just because I am not getting basic goods … Otherwise a simple X would have taken the country back to 1890.’ So spoke President Mugabe according to The Sunday Mail, June 15, 2008. Of all the explanations Robert Mugabe has given for effectively forcing his rival to abandon the run off in June 2008 this (quoted on p. 60 of the book under review) is one of the most revealing - and chilling. He clearly believes, and his supporters share this belief, that he has a right to govern this country whatever the people say through their votes. What is excruciating about this stance is the memory of the 1960s when ZANU and ZAPU’s cry ‘one man, one vote’ was dismissed by the Rhodesians as ‘one man, one vote, once.’ To discover that this cynicism would come true all these years later is indeed painful.

Defying the Winds of Change is a study of the two elections in 2008, one on March 29th and the second, the run-off, on June 27th. Eldred Masunungure has a assembled a variety of writers who describe the events from different viewpoints; the economic and social situation, the media, the legal approach and the military. What emerges is a reasonably fair first round leading to a shock result for ZANU PF who then swung into action, violent action, to ensure the second round brought the result they wanted. The editor summarises his thoughts as follows (p. 97): the 27 June election was ‘heavily militarised and the resultant ballot was more a barometer of people’s fears than of people’s choices. … It failed to settle the question of who should legitimately lead the people of Zimbabwe. … This set the stage for the search for a non-electoral solution to the Zimbabwe crisis.’

Greg Linington (p 109) goes deeply into the process from the legal point of view pointing out inconsistencies as the law stands and concluding that strictly speaking Morgan Tsvangirai is the legal President of Zimbabwe. But since when has the law been strictly applied? 

Derek Matyszak points to a question on the MDC side (p 142). Since the results were posted at every polling station in the country on the day after the elections they had the opportunity of tabulating ‘clear and indisputable figures’ relating to the presidential and the other results. Why did they fail to challenge the Electoral Commission and the Mugabe regime and allow them to ‘drip feed’ the results to the country?

In the final chapter Simon Badza analyses the reactions of regional and international countries and organisations and finds (p 175) that the AU and SADC in particular showed an ‘inexcusable lack of commitment to enforcing their own institutional principles on member states.’ Many years ago the Rhodesian Front defied the ‘winds of change’ on the grounds that ‘Rhodesia is different.’ Badza finds that although there are new players the tune is the same. ‘Zimbabwe  conducted its harmonised elections using its own preferred “principles and guidelines” (p.174).

There is one omission in the book that I was surprised to find. No writer mentions the strong rumour a day or two after the March election that when Mugabe learnt of the results he was prepared to stand down but his service chiefs persuaded him to stay on, indicating that they would fix things for him. This rumour has been voiced many times though that still does not make it more than a rumour. Still, if there is even some truth in it, it does credit to the old man.

Anyone wishing to understand the crucial events of 2008 would be well advised to study this short book.