The MDC formation led by Welshman Ncube has dismissed as mischievous the stance adopted by Zanu PF that Zimbabweans in the Diaspora should not vote as long as sanctions are in place.
MDC-N national spokesman Nhlanhla Dube told NewsDay they were taken aback by remarks by Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs Emmerson Mnangagwa where he claimed Zimbabwean Diasporans could only be allowed to vote in national elections after the travel bans imposed on senior Zanu PF officials were removed.
Mnangagwa said the travel restrictions barred his party from reaching out to the Diaspora for campaign purposes.
But Dube said the issue of sanctions and the Diaspora vote should be treated separately.
“It’s only fair that they (Zanu PF) also get a chance to address those in the Diaspora,” he said. “However, efforts to lift sanctions should be chased within the Global Political Agreement where it will involve the combined participation of all political parties.”
Dube said despite Zanu PF’s inability to address the Diaspora, the reality of the situation in Zimbabwe was that the people who fled the country did so when Zanu PF was the sole ruling party.
“Zanu’s fear is that large numbers of the Diaspora will not be in their favour,” he said. “It is important to deal with the Diaspora because they are a part of the nation and should be included in the reconstruction of the country’s government.”
The majority of exiled Zimbabweans are living in Southern African states like South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, and these countries do not have any targeted sanctions on members of the Mugabe regime.
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A new constitution being drafted by the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee is expected to determine whether the Diaspora should be allowed to vote or not.
