On July 31, 2013 Zimbabwe held its national elections and the results, declared on August 3, returned President Robert Mugabe to office for his seventh term since independence of that country in 1980. His party, the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), won over two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly enabling it to form its own government.
On July 31, 2013 Zimbabwe held its national elections and the results, declared on August 3, returned President Robert Mugabe to office for his seventh term since independence of that country in 1980. His party, the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), won over two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly enabling it to form its own government. The main opposition parties, the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC-T and MDC-M, which are known to enjoy the backing of western imperialist powers, were roundly defeated.
After the declaration of the election results, western imperialist powers, notably the US, Britain, some European Union (EU) states and Australia, have launched a vicious campaign declaring that the elections were ‘rigged’, and have refused to accept the ZANU-PF victory and its government formation. The opposition parties MDC-T and MDC-M, supported by these powers, have also challenged the election results and demanded a re-election.
This amounts to blatant interference by the western imperialist powers in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe. These powers have never been reconciled to the defeat of their white-minority rule in that country, as a result of the nearly 20 year long, courageous armed struggle of the Zimbabwean patriots. They have never accepted the fact that Zimbabwe has repeatedly resisted the pressures and dictates of the US and its western imperialist allies; that the government in Zimbabwe has continued undeterred by these pressures, with its program of land re-distribution and transfer of mining and manufacturing industries in favour of the local people, in an attempt to eliminate the harsh inequalities between the white rulers and African people that characterized the colonial rule.
Ever since the Zimbabwean people secured their independence in 1980, the US, Britain and other imperialist powers have never stopped their interference in the internal affairs of that country. First they organized a split and armed conflict amongst the political groups that had fought alongside each other against the colonizers; then the US and EU imposed a wide range of sanctions against the government of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean people, causing grave damage to the Zimbabwean economy. These powers have been instrumental in propping up the opposition parties, MDC-T and MDC-M, to foil the efforts of the government at land redistribution and transfer of assets. Following the 2008 elections in which these opposition parties gained the upper hand, the ZANU-PF formed a coalition government with the MDC-T and MDC-M through a regionally-mediated Global Political Agreement (GPA). During this period, all the parties in the coalition participated in drafting and adopting a new constitution, through a national referendum as well as resolutions within the both Houses of the National Assembly.
The US and its imperialist allies were extremely upset that they were not allowed to send observers for the elections held in July 2013 (Zimbabwe refused to allow them to send observers for the elections saying that African nations could provide adequate monitoring to ensure a credible election). Large delegations from the African Union and the regional trade bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observed the voting. According to newspaper reports, the SADC facilitator, the Kenyan President and the Chinese government have congratulated President Mugabe and ZANU-PF on their landslide victory in the elections and urged all parties to accept the result. The United Nations (UN), AU, SADC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and other observer groups from Africa have also endorsed the elections.
However, the US, Britain and Australia have criticized the elections. This shows that they intend to continue their arrogant and brutal interference in the affairs of that country, as they are doing in other countries all over the world. This imperialist pressure and blackmail on Zimbabwe deserves to be denounced by all anti-imperialist forces and freedom loving people.