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Reports that the two MDC formations have approached the African Union to hold a special summit on Friday this week to seek the postponement of the 31 July elections are not surprising at all. The two MDC formations have been relentlessly looking for excuses to delay the 31 July harmonised presidential, parliamentary and council elections.

But what surprises us is that the two parties claim to have the support of the people and have been bragging about the crowds at their rallies as a sign of the support they enjoy.

So why are they afraid of the elections if they have the people on their side? The MDC formations are laying the ground for soiling the elections, which they know they will lose.  But as President Mugabe put it when addressing Zanu-PF supporters at a star rally in Rudhaka Stadium in Marondera on Monday, there should be no going back on the 31 July elections date.

The preparations for the elections have reached a point of no return.
The spirited attempts by the MDC formations and their British handlers to have the polls deferred are surely a non starter.

Given the resources that have so far been spent on preparing for the elections, it is unwise to seek a postponement now. The electorate is already in election mode while some of the processes have already been undertaken. Election of chiefs has already been done while special voting has also taken place albeit with some challenges. Those challenges are largely to do with the lack of resources at the disposal of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Treasury, which falls under the Ministry of Finance headed by MDC-T secretary general Mr Tendai Biti, has not provided adequate funding for the electoral processes. The special voting has also been affected by the MDC nomination appeals at the Electoral Court, according to ZEC deputy chairperson Mrs Joyce Kazembe.

Despite these teething challenges, the election preparations have been going ahead. We do not see the sense in seeking a postponement this late with just exactly two weeks to polling day. This is just another tactic by the MDC formations to delay the inevitable, their defeat in the 31 July polls.

Sadc, which had advised the Global Political Agreement partners to seek a postponement of the elections by two weeks to August from the 31 July date proclaimed by President Mugabe following a Constitutional Court ruling, said it would stand by the court’s decision.

The Constitutional Court threw out the applications by the GPA partners for a postponement and that ruling is final and binding on all political parties and Sadc.

Let us have the elections and get done with them so that people get on with their lives. A country cannot be talking about elections in perpetuity honestly. Since the formation of the inclusive government in 2009, election talk has always been the order of the day.

Right now businesses and even individuals are sitting on the fence waiting for the outcome of the elections before making decisions.

This is the reason why the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce have been calling for peaceful and credible elections so that the operating environment prevailing at the moment is not affected by negative sentiment caused by disputed elections.

We believe this is the best time to hold these elections because the conditions are conducive. There is peace in the country as the political parties are campaigning freely without hindrance.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart has directed schools to close early to free their institutions some of which will be used as polling stations and teachers who will be the polling officers.

Already schools, parents and pupils have made alternative arrangements with the new closing and opening dates in mind. To ask for a postponement now is just to seek the disenfranchisement of schools, parents and pupils.