MDC-T Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora has urged government to allow Zimbabweans living in the diaspora to vote in national elections while castigating the act of recognizing their role in economic development but denying them rights.
Speaking in senate yesterday, Mwonzora said his party is working on concrete proposals on how to make the diaspora community participate in national elections in the same manner other countries like Mozambique, Malawi and Russia are doing.
“In his speech, the President acknowledged the role of the diaspora in Zimbabwe’s economic development. They must be encouraged to do more. However, there cannot be responsibility without rights. Therefore, this country has to allow the diaspora vote.
“Other countries like Malawi, Mozambique and Russia allow their nationals stationed in Zimbabwe to vote in their national elections while they are in Zimbabwe. My party – the MDC-T is working on concrete proposals on how to make the diaspora vote safe, fair and credible,” said Mwonzora.
Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in the region that are not implementing diaspora vote with opposition parties accusing government of resisting the idea due to fear of losing elections.
Zimbabwe has an estimated diaspora population of over 3 million people who are living in South Africa, United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia among other countries.
The high Zimbabwe diaspora population is mainly made up of economic and political refugees who fled the country after the 2000 land reform exercise that destabilized the local economy.
