Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance has pointed out that Zimbabweans in the diaspora should be allowed to vote as enshrined in the Constitution.

In a statement, MDC Alliance Namibia said every Zimbabwean citizen should be allowed to vote regardless of geographical location.

Read full statement below :

02 DECEMBER 2020

DIASPORA VOTE IS A NON-NEGOTIABLE RIGHT!

2013 CONSTITUTION IS VERY CLEAR, MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA DEMANDS ONE-MAN ONE-VOTE.

Mdc Alliance Namibia remains convinced that diaspora vote is a non-negotiable right conforming to the supreme law of the country as stipulated on Section 155 which unequivocally states that all citizens should vote regardless of their geographical location.

This has meant that the Zanupf government bears the responsibility to ferry the ballot box to Zimbabweans wherever they are in the diaspora be it in Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada , Germany only to mention but a few.

Prior to the advent of the 2013 constitution, in 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that voting was not a fundamental right therefore Zanupf and their proxies argued that the diaspora vote was not a universal basic human right.

Subsequent court appeals by diaspora residents could not transform the outcome of the court but today as Mdc Alliance Namibia, we want to stand firm championing constitutional democracy. Chinamasa, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and their clueless Zanupf regime must realise that the aspects of Constitutional Law and Electoral Law should not be compromised aided by their unconstitutional reasoning.

Moreover, Mdc Alliance Namibia intends to inform Chinamasa that we are conscious of the fact that Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora play a significant role in the development of the motherland.

The undoubted contribution of the diaspora residents was exhibited in 2016 when the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) unearthed that the diaspora accounted for US$700 million in direct remittances.

Adding to the above mentioned astounding amount, they also spend a lot whenever they return home in support of their desperate relatives who are languishing in abject poverty.

The neglected diaspora community could also contribute through investment in available productive sectors that enhance economic boom and employment creation.

Moreso, diasporas can further be tapped to contribute to policy dialogue as well as the transfer of knowledge and skills to deal with serious national issues. The politically inept Zanupf government must hasten to realise that deprived of the inclusion of the citizens in the diaspora, we will perpetually witness an unprecedented increase in unemployment, senseless and barefaced corruption, intimidation and extremely poor livelihoods in the country.

A closer scrutiny to the denial of diaspora vote is incontrovertible evidence to prove Zanupf’s autocracy and totalitarianism. This unravels the extraordinary lack of political will on the part of desperate Zanupf to organise and process elections that will guarantee an objective fulfillment of One-Man-One-Vote. It is only the phobia of an obvious embarrassment from social democrats in the diaspora who ran away from Zanupf’s gross misgovernance. We demand comprehensive political and electoral reforms to avoid disputed elections in the country.

Furthermore, it is quite pathetic that Zec and Zanupf government are still reluctant to implement the 2013 Constitution citing the traditional political rhetoric concealed behind the membrane of resource dearths ,as well as the undersupply of information on the whereabouts of citizens that reside in the diaspora. Mdc Alliance Namibia does not resonate with these political lies that are being paddled by Zanupf power mongers.

This is a deliberate ploy to deny diasporas their right to vote since to them , voting is a way of sanitising rigging of the people’s voices with impunity. We were perturbed to hear loud mouthed( Mr Bin) Patrick Chinamasa pronouncing that the 2023 elections were already over before the votes. Namibia district would like to encourage our parliamentarians to revisit the Electoral Act to deal with disputed elections once and all. We are tired of stolen elections since the inception of the Mdc in 1999.

Mdc Alliance Namibia is furiously demanding an immediate end to selfishness, rapaciousness and unbridled individualism which have become a national religion in Zanupf politics of the belly and self-enrichment.

If Zanupf is democratic enough, it must realise that the diasporas should not be limited or restrained in their quest to decide on the governance of their beloved country like what other African, European, Asian and American states are doing to those who live beyond borders.

Zimbabwe must emulate neighbours who respect their citizens abroad by granting them voting rights.

In Namibia, Namibians in the diaspora have been accorded their voting rights in the national elections since 2014, when amendments were made to the Electoral Act of 2009, Namibian expatriates may vote at temporary registration points , usually set up at Namibian embassies or high commissions. In consonance with Chapter 1 , Section 10 of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998, South African citizens staying abroad retain the right to vote in national elections , with no expiry date.

In addition , Tunisian expatriates have been allowed the right to vote in Presidential elections since 1988, and additionally in parliamentary elections since the Tunisian Revolution in 2011.

Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and his government must be prepared to handle these reforms before 2023 because NO TOLERANCE to election rigging in the next episode.

To wind it up, Mdc Alliance Namibia District would like to make an informed fall up on this fundamental issue.

We resonate with Gabriel Shumba, the leader of Zimbabwe Exiles Forum and others who had the varlour and mettle to approach the African Commission on Human and People’s rights in Banjul (The Gambia) in 2013 which granted them a provisional order allowing diaspora vote. What the hard-headed Zanupf dictators must consider is that our Motherland can only evade poverty in all facets of development if the electorate is given their democratic rights to express his/her preference.

This will automatically act as a resounding catalyst for better and sound governance as well socio-economic transformation.

MdcAllianceNamibiaDemandsDiasporaVote

OneManOneVote

DiasporaVoteCounts

AllZimbabweansMustVote

WeDemandElectoralReforms

CorruptionMustGo

FreeJacobMafume

FreeTunga

FreeLast

RunduBranchDemandsDiasporaVote

ZanupfMustGo

ZimbabweanLivesMatter

Mdc Alliance Namibia
Rundu Branch Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya