Opposition calls on Mugabe to allow Diaspora vote
By Violet Gonda
27 August 2007

A showdown is looming between the opposition and the ruling party on the issue of allowing Zimbabweans outside the country to vote. Nelson Chamisa, the spokesperson for the Tsvangirai MDC, said this is one of the minimum conditions of the opposition for free and fair elections. The MDC is currently holding talks with ZANU PF in a SADC mediation process led President Thabo Mbeki.
There are at least 4 million Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. Chamisa said there is not going to be a free and fair election without the vote of those who have been forced to foreign lands because of circumstances back home.

The opposition official said the Diaspora’s right to elect their leadership at home, wherever they are currently living, should be respected as they send remittances back to look after their families. Chamisa said the regime is not comfortable with the idea of allowing a Diaspora vote, because it feels people outside Zimbabwe are out of their control.

It’s not only Zimbabweans outside the country who are currently being denied their right to vote, but also Zimbabweans of alien origin. Chamisa said it is also these people of Malawian and Mozambican origin who should be allowed to vote in elections scheduled for next year.