Yearning for change

Sinqobile Tessa
HOPEFUL: Opposition supporters

Main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa successfully filed his presidential nominations papers on Tuesday, before boldly tweeting, ‘A new great Zimbabwe is loading.’

His tweet attracted views and comments from thousands of social media users, most of whom seemed to be in agreement as they expressed optimism about the dawning of a new era post August 23 when the country goes to the polls.

In my mind, I thought, hope surely does not kill, for if it did, many Zimbos would have long bit the dust.

Zimbabwe has had many ‘so near yet so far’ situations when it comes to elections.

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People’s hopes have been raised in the past yet here we are with Zanu PF still the governing party.

I know as scribes we should be apolitical but I guess at times we are forced by circumstances to take sides because of the challenges that we are going through as a nation.

No doubt most ordinary Zimbos yearn for that great Zimbabwe but our past experiences have taught us it will remain just a dream, unless a miracle happens.

Even during the era of the late former President Robert Mugabe and his bitter rival, the late Morgan Tsvangirai, many thought there would be change but Mugabe would have none of it even when it was clear that he had lost.

No wonder the late Tsvangirai was always referred to as ‘the President that we never had’ because despite his wins in elections, he never got a chance to lead the country as Mugabe simply refused to concede defeat.

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The closest we came to change was during the Government of National Unity when the two warring parties shared power even though Mugabe had lost.

Will 2023 be different from the past elections? I don’t think so.

In the last elections, Chamisa claimed he had won and his party even went to court to challenge the elections results with no joy.

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Yes, we want a better, greater Zimbabwe and politicians have a right to promise us that but sadly in our country, elections have just become a formality as the result is already obvious.

I really hope to be proven wrong in August as we have suffered for far too long and could do with a new governing party which might make Zimbabwe great again.

Meanwhile, a key member of Mugabe’s last cabinet and former Zanu PF commissar, Savior Kasukuwere was expected in the country on Wednesday to file his nomination papers following his declaration that he also wants to run for President.

Kasukuwere, 52, has been living in self-imposed exile in South Africa since the 2017 military coup and his re-entry into politics might bring in some interesting twists.

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