Will Tsvangirai make it this time?

For all intends and purposes, Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai has no chance in tomorrow’s polls. Everything is rigged against him. No reforms. No State media coverage. No access to the voters’ roll. Even the organisation handling the elections is against him. The only thing behind him is the voters.

This is the picture that the Movement for Democratic Change has painted throughout its campaign. This is a sham election. The party is only participating because the people are behind it. Everything seems to be in Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Robert Mugabe’s favour. The army, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the vote riggers are all behind Mugabe, who at 89 is too old to contest and lead the nation for the next five years.

A report by Agence France Presse says despite his popularity Tsvangirai has consistently been outmanoeuvred by Mugabe. The news agency says Tsvangirai is contesting Mugabe tomorrow for the third time and this may be his last chance.

“He retains a strong following among urbanites and Zimbabweans in rural of the western part of the country. But even among supporters, there is a lingering sense that Tsvangirai has repeatedly been outmanoeuvred by Mugabe, even when the international community forced Mugabe to accept him as prime minister,” the agency said.

“After more than four years of a forced unity government, most meaningful levers of power — from the security services to the judiciary — remain under Mugabe’s control. Tsvangirai has been criticised for offering Mugabe legitimacy by participating in polls that have repeatedly been rigged — and for failing to mobilise mass protests that could shift the terrain in his favour. And on his watch, the MDC has split into two rival factions, draining energy and valuable votes.”

But Tsvangirai is still the best alternative, if the campaign is limited to personalities.

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