Tsvangirai Pulls Out

Shock and disappointment gave way to understanding and admiration after pondering MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to pull out of the Zimbabwean presidential runoff. Tsvangirai won the first round of elections, but the government continues to claim that he didn't gain enough votes to win an outright majority.

Tsvangirai concluded that remaining in the race through the Friday runoff would have created a disastrously violent situation in the already beleaguered country. The military threatened to kill anyone who voted for the MDC. Tsvangirai felt that he couldn't ask his supporters to risk their lives to vote. In addition, because of the violence, he didn't think he could win and didn't want to give credibility to a fraudulent election that would have kept an authoritarian leader in power.

Tsvangirai states that the point of his run in the rerun was to expose President Robert Mugabe as a violent dictator. He has done that. Even Mugabe's closest regional allies have condemned his campaign tactics. The dozens of fallen MDC supporters have not died in vain. In the face of strong emotions, Tsvangirai chose to halt his own presidential dreams for the time being in order to save his numerous remaining followers. It is a measured and courageous decision.

There must be extreme frustration boiling within MDC supporters who have withstood beatings to campaign for their cause. But their lives would have been lost had they proceeded. Nevertheless, the decision to abandon the election leaves me with sadness. I once said that "an opposition boycott to an election is the evil leader's version of an orgasm. And in the aftermath, there's a lot of shame and regret." However, I'm also optimistic. The legitimacy that Mugabe lost has fallen into Tsvangirai's back pocket.

So what's next? It is likely that Mugabe's rule will end soon regardless. Many of his allies within his party detest his presence. The fear is that Mugabe will be overthrown and replaced with a younger version of the old mustached man. Tsvangirai asserts that the military already rules Zimbabwe and Mugabe has been marginalized. We can only hope for a people's revolution after the fixed vote on Friday. The MDC has support within the rank and file of the military, but those supporters didn't rebel against their commanding officers for fear of treason. Perhaps there will be a mass uprising within the military to aid a non-violent people's revolution finally installing Zimbabwe's legitimate leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Out of respect for Tsvangirai's decision to pull out of the election, I will no longer make at least one reference about the situation in Zimbabwe in every post, as I've done for the past six weeks. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to forget about Zimbabwe or it's people either. Stand up Zimbabwe!