Opinion | Editorials
Mugabe buying votes yet again
In an attempt to sway voters he has issued orders to give civil servants pay increases.
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:29 March 14, 2008
It is generally recognised that democracy in Zimbabwe is dead and buried. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean president for the past 28 years, sounded its death-knell many years ago. Mugabe has succeeded in driving a once-prosperous nation into poverty. But he comes up for re-election on March 29, and has promised "free and fair" elections.
Yet Mugabe's concept of what comprises a free and fair election is different from that practiced elsewhere. In an attempt to sway voters he has issued orders to give civil servants pay increases, although with little in the shops and the money almost worthless it is hard to know what benefit that will be.
Not content with that, Mugabe is also giving free tractors to farmers, despite farmers having no crops to plant, no water for irrigation, and no fuel for the tractors. But then, as Mugabe lives in isolated luxury, it is easy to understand his wrong thinking.
More from Editorials
More from Opinions
Opinion Editor's choice
-
Egyptians must reject foreign meddling
By Tariq Ramadan, Special to Gulf News
Presidential election may turn out to be less a new chapter in a democratic future than an old chapter complete with a stage-managed outcome
-
Moderates may gift Egypt to Islamists
By Linda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News
Liberals cannot afford to sit at home or in cafes watching queues lengthen outside polling stations. They must quit complaining and vote with their feet
-
Is Al Maliki serious about democracy and more words?
By Mohammad Akef Jamal, Special to Gulf News
He is pushing towards a military showdown with the Kurds at a time when they are stronger than ever before
Your turn
