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Restore the Diaspora vote
Movement for Democratic Change
May 05, 2011

The MDC believes that all adult Zimbabweans, regardless of their station either at home or in the Diaspora, must be allowed to vote in the next and in any election if democracy has to assume its generic meaning out of today's political transition.

The MDC's call comes amid claims by Zanu PF's Emmerson Mnangagwa that restrictive measures imposed on certain senior Zanu PF officials must go first before those in the Diaspora can vote.

Zanu PF and Mnangagwa must know that the issue of restrictive measures and the Diaspora vote are not linked in anyway and therefore cannot be compared.

The Inclusive Government was set up to give birth to a completely new society, a society that reflects a radical departure from our dark past. The people's Party of Excellence, the MDC recognises the fundamental right for total franchise for all eligible citizens of Zimbabwe. The right to a vote can never be treated as a privilege, and cannot be bargained for.

Decades of economic and political chaos drove millions of Zimbabweans off their home base. As if to further punish them the former regime quickly disenfranchised them purely on allegations of supporting the party of the future, the MDC. Now that Zimbabwe is being surveyed by an Inclusive Government, there can never be any justification for official discrimination of citizens in the Diaspora.

For the record, these Zimbabweans living and working abroad gave the country a lifeline against a debilitating hyper-inflationary period through a steady flow of remittances in cash, food and fuel. They continue to do so today as the country teeters back to its feet. They should never be denied a voice to determine the future of their country.

As our negotiators exchange notes with the SADC facilitation team in Cape Town, South Africa, the MDC calls for the restoration of the Diaspora vote as a natural right. We should end the discrimination and exclusion of such a sizeable and invaluable part of our active population in national affairs.

Needless to point out that the liberation struggle was anchored on the need for a one-person, one vote principle. To deny a Zimbabwean such a right would amount to a regrettable betrayal of the ideals of that struggle.

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