The need for a diaspora vote in Zimbabwe

DISENFRANCHISED ZIMBABWEANS ABROAD DEMAND YOUR VOTE!



The 2008 joint Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Zimbabwe will not be considered free and fair if they are not all- embracing and all-inclusive. About 4million Zimbabweans live outside the country due to the adverse economic and political situation wrought on the small nation by the ruling ZANU PF. A large portion of this alarming figure of Zimbabweans now lives in South Africa and the United Kingdom whilst the rest of the portion is scattered all over the world in countries such as Canada, USA, New Zealand and Australia.

The result of this exodus which is a direct product of the ZANU PF misrule was the Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiated- talks between the main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and ZANU PF, the protagonist and antagonist in the current Zimbabwean political situation, respectively. The reason for the dialogue is to end animosities between the two political parties paving the way for an agreement on certain fundamental political concessions that would allow the country to abide by the SADC Guidelines on Free and Fair Elections. In short, the idea behind the dialogue is to facilitate in the re-establishment of democratic norms and values in Zimbabwe.

Lately, according to the participants there has been some “progress” in the talks with the recent bills on the amendment of POSA, AIPPA and the Electoral Act being fast-tracked in parliament to show the “true spirit” of the talks. Shockingly, the issue of the disenfranchised millions in the Diaspora has not been given the priority it deserves. Therefore, the subject of Voter Registration and Vote-casting by Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, has not been tackled with the prominence it deserves for the SADC initiated-talks to be considered progressive.

The blame lies squarely on us, the people in exile, because we have not come up with a grassroots movement to petition the political actors in the dialogue, that is, SADC, ZANU PF and the MDC. It is never too late to do so. It’s up to us to show our African brothers in particular and the international community that Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF have lost the moral authority to govern, let alone the mandate to do so.