Privilege Ncube from Bulawayo in Zimbabwe bought her mother a beautiful yellow dress last year, but she has never worn it for fear of being affiliated with Nelson Chamisa’s opposition party — the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
“Anyone who wears yellow is by default affiliated with that opposition party,” Ncube told TimesLIVE Premium.
“I don’t know how I feel about the election. I honestly think it is a waste of time,” said Ncube ahead of the Zimbabwean elections on Wednesday.
Ncube settled in South Africa in 2009. While she believes her vote had the potential to change the country, the hostility of the 2008 elections left her with fear.
“We were the youth that lived through the 2008 elections. Elections have never been peaceful. They have been saying elections have been peaceful, but they have never been peaceful,” she said.
On Wednesday, Zimbabweans will cast their votes to elect councillors, MPs and a president. The incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa from Zanu-PF and opposition leader Chamisa are the most notable runners.
Ncube expressed fear over the outcome.
I would say that at one point we are going to resort to barter trade where you will give me a maize meal and I give you chicken.
— Privilege Ncube, Zimbabwean national living in SA
“We are glad it is happening, but we don’t know the outcome and if it is something that the ruling party is not happy with — there are going to be consequences,” Ncube said.
She would not be going back to Zimbabwe to vote.
Ncube expressed her sympathy for people in Zimbabwe, saying what she has heard from her family suggests a situation where people are barely surviving. She said the cost of living is “very high” and that it is “a miracle” to survive if you are below the middle class. Ncube added that unemployment was bad, hence the influx of people to neighbouring countries.
“The only people surviving in Zimbabwe are government officials, police, nurses and soldiers, but they are also barely hanging on. I would say that at one point we are going to resort to barter trade where you will give me a maize meal and I give you chicken,” she added.
Meanwhile, another Zimbabwean national based in SA — Blessing Mnyaka is a teacher at a private school in KwaZulu-Natal. The 42-year-old doesn’t believe this week’s elections will bring change as people’s livelihoods have got worse over the years.
I didn’t register because I am well aware of the system. I am not going to vote. The whole system is crooked in such a way that they have ghost voters.
— Blessing Mnyaka, Zimbabwean national living in SA
He painted a picture of elections allegedly marred by intimidation, where voters have lost hope while the dire economic situation doesn’t improve.
“I didn’t register because I am well aware of the system. I am not going to vote. The whole system is crooked in such a way that they have ghost voters. They will have maybe 300 or 400 people at the same address because they are the ones who own the registration system and the national registry,” he said.
Mnyaka blamed the ruling Zanu-PF for what is happening in his home country. He said since 1999, voters have not been allowed to see a change that their election would bring.
The father of three said before he left the country, he was in the military around 2003 and this is where he learnt about the government and the ruling party.
“Even as we speak, people are being intimidated. They say when you vote on the day of elections, take a picture to show where you have been voting,” he said.
He doesn’t believe Mnangagwa is willing to give up power easily, and on the ground, he said, officials are blatant enough to say it is not going to happen.
His brother lives in Masvingo and he has relatives in Guruve, in northern Zimbabwe which is about five hours’ drive from the capital Harare. Mnyaka said he visited home during the recent June school holidays. He said the abject poverty back home was unbearable and they were using US dollars, which were not easy to acquire. Everything, he said, was expensive.
“It is not easy to have a dollar in your pocket though it doesn’t buy much. If Nelson [Chamisa] wins there is going to be a change, but obviously if he wins who is going to concede power to the opposition?” he asked.
While Mnyaka has settled in SA with his wife and three children, he recently bought an open stand in Harare — outside the city in a village. He hopes that one day the situation will be better and allow him to go back home.
Gwayi Moyo from Kwekwe province about 227km outside Bulawayo initially decided to leave SA and go back home to vote but on Tuesday changed his mind for safety reasons.
The 29-year-old said many people in his country wanted change as nothing worked, including health care and schools.
He said the majority of the potential workforce was unemployed, while even urban homes did not have clean running water. Road networks and public hospitals, he said, are dilapidated.
“Public schools don’t have books or access to the internet. Most schools in rural areas don’t have decent classrooms. Millions of Zimbabweans are suffering, living from hand to mouth,” he said.
Happy Ndebele, an Uber driver based in SA, said the diaspora were perceived as residents who had run away from their home country and wouldn’t vote.
He, however, was more optimistic about Wednesday’s elections.
The incumbent president listens to anyone, hence footprints of ... development are cropping up daily despite sanctions. The latter compels me to go back home and vote.
— Happy Ndebele, Zimbabwean national living in SA
He told TimesLIVE Premium he loved his country and would continue to participate in every process of developing it.
“The former president Robert Mugabe was a dictator and remained in power for 37 years. Despite the sanctions he never listened, hence he tumbled down with the country. The incumbent president listens to anyone, hence footprints of ... development are cropping up daily despite sanctions. The latter compels me to go back home and vote,” he said.
Ndebele had planned to go back home for the elections, but on the eve of the polls, he changed his mind, indicating he did not want to compromise on his safety.
“I wanted to go, but I withdrew because I discovered that I was in the company of the wrong people. I didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire,” he said.
Mnyaka, like Ncube and Moyo, said there is no mechanism that allows them to vote outside their country.
“We are not allowed. Zanu-PF knows why we are on this side. We ran away from Zanu-PF,” said Mnyaka.
Dr Sizo Nkala, a research fellow at the University of Johannesburg Centre for Africa-China Studies, echoed the sentiments of many Zimbabweans and confirmed that most will not cast their vote as they believe the elections have been rigged in favour of the ruling Zanu-PF.
“As such voting seems to be a waste of time. Zimbabwe has had disputed elections since 2000. Though the opposition has sought recourse in the courts, they have not been successful there because the courts seem to be biased towards the ruling party. It doesn’t look like Wednesday’s elections will be any different,” he said.
He said already the integrity of the elections has been undermined by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s refusal to release the national voters’ roll to the opposition parties and its lack of transparency in the number and location of polling stations.
Nkala said the Zimbabwean law gives the opposition parties the right to access the voters’ roll, to ascertain how many people are registered to vote at the various polling stations. He said without a voters’ roll it will be difficult to verify the authenticity of the election results.
He added that the Zimbabwean government has refused to legalise the diaspora vote over the years, though more than four-million Zimbabweans live outside the country.
The government’s unwillingness to implement the diaspora vote disenfranchises millions of Zimbabweans who contribute billions of dollars to the country’s economy in yearly remittances.
— Dr Sizo Nkala, research fellow at the University of Johannesburg Centre for Africa-China Studies
“Hence people living outside the country are forced to travel back to Zimbabwe to cast their vote. However, most people cannot afford to travel to Zimbabwe, or their work schedule does not allow them. Therefore, the government’s unwillingness to implement the diaspora vote disenfranchises millions of Zimbabweans who contribute billions of dollars to the country’s economy in yearly remittances,” he said.
He said last week, Zimbabwean police voted by postal ballot.
According to him, the police usually vote early as they are on duty on election day.
“However, there were widespread allegations that the police were voting in front of their superiors who ensured that they voted for the ruling party. These are the sort of things that discourage people from voting and contribute to voter apathy.”
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