MBIZO MP Settlement Chikwinya (MDC-T) yesterday said Zimbabweans should desist from using the term “alien” as it was xenophobic, adding President Robert Mugabe’s nephew, Zvimba East MP Patrick Zhuwao, could also be described as alien.
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Chikwinya made the remarks while winding up his motion on mobile voter registration which was adopted yesterday by MPs across the political divide.
“It is regrettable that as a nation we have adopted the word ‘alien’ which is a xenophobic term,” said Chikwinya.“In this House sits one who can be termed that way, Zvimba East MP Patrick Zhuwao, but I see him as a fellow brother and he and his uncle (Mugabe) are beneficiaries of a political system which has been calling people aliens.”
Chikwinya said voter registration should be an easy exercise to the extent that Zimbabweans would be able to register online.
“We should move to ICT so that voter registration is done online since Internet penetration in Zimbabwe is 32%. We give credit to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson (Justice) Rita Makarau, but as Parliament we will continue to monitor the process and react whenever we see activities contrary to the letter and spirit of voter registration,” he said.
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Zanu PF chief whip Joram Gumbo concurred with Chikwinya.
“We all agree in this House that voter registration should be given time so that our people can register. We should not sink so low to think that people who go to register at a particular point support a particular party. We will be surprised they do not because a vote is secret,” Gumbo said.