What voters know matters

Voting is only as empowering as the knowledge in the knowledge the participants have about candidates. How Matabeleland voters decide how to exercise their political power—that is, how they arrive at the decision to choose for whom to vote is fundamental for the politics pertaining in the region. We want to create a high information voting block and access to high quality information about candidates is required to improve chances of people making the right choices not only for themselves, but for democracy and the next generation.  

Mind who you run to, if you go beg for help. Despite the education credentials, Mashonaland and ZANU PF pundits working in state media cannot be the right information sources for us and we should not rely upon them for objective political commentary or messaging. Over the years, ethnic Shona people have proven they cannot see beyond tribe. We have learned that they would stoop to any depths just to keep power in Shona hands, to them it is tribe before policy unless it is only their tribesmen contesting for it. In 1980 Nkomo was arguably the better candidate, but Mugabe was the right tribe, he had the numbers, Nkomo had the policies not the numbers, so he lost.

What our people know very well is the Gukurahundi brutality, they are still gripped by fear; ZANU PF sycophants understand that very well thus the persisting and worsening use of abuse and intimidation campaigns every election cycle – kidnappings of opponents, harassment of media personnel, tribal microaggressions, etc.

No one doubts how impactful state abuse and intimidation is in influencing public decisions. The inflammatory nature of some issues leaves the political space unsafe to speak up on political issues. While the abuse and intimidation are targeted at anyone who dares challenge the status quo, women and people from minority ethnic background are disproportionately affected by these factors. Consequently, they are less likely to go into politics.

Matabeleland’s reality is such that accessing democracy is tenuous. Confronting fear where public safety is not a government priority, but fear is its main weapon to stay in power is itself intimidating.  

Navigating this sensitive and violent political environment has meant making costly sacrifices; for instance, Matabeleland politicians have previously settled for subsidiary roles under the leadership of performative liberal ethnic Shona individuals than lead national political organisations. This has had far-reaching consequences including enabling constructive loss of control of innovation rights and marginalisation by ethnic Shona dominated leadership. The early 1990s MDC is a prime example.

Perhaps we can also argue that we have, somehow, been conditioned to believe ethnic Shona candidates are the better candidates although there is no objective evidence to prove that has been the case in the 45 years of political independence in postcolonial Zimbabwe.

To rebuild credibility and trust in politics in Matabeleland, civil society must change the political optics and make voting a genuinely empowering and life-changing democratic tool. This is a non-partisan matter, but a basic human rights issue; voter participation must matter and power in the people must matter more than the people in power; it is irresponsible to neglect the public, disarm them by not providing valuable information they need to make what are essentially life-changing decisions, and then watch voting slip into a mundane act of transferring or even surrendering power to politicians of all stripes.

It is a fact that the electorate already have some information of their own about politics and they have beliefs and perceived views about candidates which may influence choices. The right approach would be to acknowledge that reality and make efforts to understand what that information is. It is important that we engage the electorate to understand their beliefs, preferences in candidates including character and policy preferences. We need to provide better quality information about candidates, their track records and stated positions on issues and policies. Even more important, will be improved access to credible and reliable sources for relevant information.

Creating a high information constituency is not easy but not impossible, this is not an event but an ongoing process, we need greater investment in human, time and financial resources. Let us ensure voters have easy access to easy-to-understand nonpartisan information about governance, information about the candidates’ records, information to make judgements of character, information about candidates’ issue positions, and information about the policies candidates promise to enact into law. Significantly, voters need information about the political issues policies are meant to address.

Recognising that people have knowledge, opinion and preferences of their own which impact their political views and choices of candidates forms a vital foundation from which we can redesign local politics. When information that is already available to the public is known, that can help in repackaging the message and identifying candidates who are relatable to the electorate.