Gwanda residents reject diaspora vote?

GWANDA residents yesterday said diasporans should be denied the right to vote from foreign countries in the 2018 harmonised elections.

According to state controlled media, contributing during a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs hearing on Saturday, a majority of the participants said those in the diaspora should return home to vote.

"They should come home and register to vote. They should cast their ballots at polling stations like all other Zimbabweans," said a participant.

Mr Thulani Moyo who was part of the majority of participants who refused to give the diasporans the right to vote said the government has no money to facilitate voting from foreign lands. "The petition by Election Resources Centre isn't right. The right for the people in the diaspora to vote is in this country. They should come here and vote. The government has no money to conduct voter education there, worse still to send observers in each and every country which has Zimbabweans to observe the voting exercise," said Mr Moyo.

Gwanda Deputy Mayor, Councillor Albert Ndlovu said diasporans forfeited their right to vote when they left the country.

The Mayor, Clr Knowledge Ndlovu, said the diasporans should not be denied the right to vote as long as they were in the country.

Mr James Sibanda, another contributor, said those in the diaspora were "cowards" who ran away from the country thereby forfeiting their right to vote.

Those who contributed in favour of the diaspora vote said it would be unfair to deny Zimbabweans living outside the country the right to vote from wherever they are, when the country desperately needed their money.

Harare West legislator Ms Jessie Majome chaired the meeting which was concluded without incident unlike in Bulawayo, Mutoko and Mutare where violence occured.