Opinion / Columnist
ConCourt challenge demanding diaspora vote – compared with reforms, this is frivolous
23 Oct 2017 at 21:27hrs | Views
"ZIMBABWEANS living abroad have filed a fresh Constitutional Court (ConCourt) challenge seeking the striking down of Electoral Act provisions which bar them from taking part in local elections from their foreign bases," reported New Zimbabwe.
"Today (Friday) we filed an application on behalf of Zimbabweans living and working abroad," said ZLHR's Belinda Chinowawa.
"The application is based on a contention that the residents' requirements imposed under the Electoral Act are unconstitutional. (Section 23 (3) of the Act, calls for the removal from the voters' roll names of those who spend at least 12 consecutive months outside their constituencies.)
"So, the purpose of the application is to ask the Constitutional Court to make a declaration that the residents' requirements are unconstitutional and to facilitate voting from abroad for all Zimbabweans whether or not they are working on behalf of the government or an international organisation as is currently the case."
Whilst no one can ever dispute that the people in the diaspora have a right to a meaningful vote and the Zimbabwe government should do everything practical and within reason to facilitate this. The Zimbabwe government is already offering this to Zimbabweans on government business abroad, it will not cost much in time, money and energy to extend the facility to include the rest. What one must question here, however, is the wisdom taking the nation's eyes off the important and urgent matter stopping the ongoing flawed and illegal electoral process to pursue the diaspora vote.
The need for the people in the diaspora to exercise their democratic right to vote is important. The need to stop the flawed and illegal elections going ahead next year until the reforms designed to stop the vote rigging are implemented is the single most important and urgent on the national agenda right now. There is nothing of substance to be gained from winning the diaspora vote if at the end of the day Zanu PF still rigs next year's elections. Nothing!
It would be better for the nation if ZLHR was challenging ZEC's commitment to ensuring all Zimbabweans in the country who wish to register are afforded the opportunity to do so and ZEC's commitment to releasing a verified voters' roll at least one month before the voting day, for example. ZEC should have started the voter registration exercise in 2015 and not last month, less than a year, to the voting day; even with the best will in the world, there is no way the commission can deliver on its two commitments.
ZLHR should be asking ZEC through the Constitutional Court to prove the commission can still register 7 million, release a verified voters' roll, etc. in the time frame left before next year's elections. Failure to do so, then the Court must stop the current flawed and illegal electoral process from proceeding any further and call for the necessary democratic reforms and appointment of a more competent ZEC.
The same corrupt and incompetent ZEC failed to produce a verified voters' roll for the July 2013 elections; a fact noted in the AU election observer team's report. It will be criminal and dereliction of one's duty by all concerned if next year's elections were to go ahead without such a key and fundament document as a verified voters' roll!
Even if the regime was to give in and allow some people in the diaspora to vote; what good will that be to the nation if Zanu PF rigs the vote at the end of the day!
SADC leaders advised Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends NOT to contest the July 2013 elections without implementing the reforms first. As we all know, MDC leaders ignored the advice and contested the elections; which Zanu PF, gratefully, went on to blatantly rig.
Since the rigged July 2013 elections, the country has not implemented even one reform; SADC leaders' advice not to contest flawed elections is even more germane today than back in 2013. This time, it is not just MDC leaders who have been warned of the folly of contesting flawed elections, we have all been warned. We will all look very foolish indeed if we secured the diaspora vote but fail to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!
"What a frivolous pursuit. The so-called ZLHR just wants to apply for more USAID funds to eat, nothing more. I won't be surprised to find out that none of them has registered to vote," was Tengenenge's response to the diaspora law suit.
Diaspora vote is important but to take the nation's eyes off the important and urgent matter of making sure reforms are implemented before elections in pursuit of diaspora vote would indeed be frivolous!
"Today (Friday) we filed an application on behalf of Zimbabweans living and working abroad," said ZLHR's Belinda Chinowawa.
"The application is based on a contention that the residents' requirements imposed under the Electoral Act are unconstitutional. (Section 23 (3) of the Act, calls for the removal from the voters' roll names of those who spend at least 12 consecutive months outside their constituencies.)
"So, the purpose of the application is to ask the Constitutional Court to make a declaration that the residents' requirements are unconstitutional and to facilitate voting from abroad for all Zimbabweans whether or not they are working on behalf of the government or an international organisation as is currently the case."
Whilst no one can ever dispute that the people in the diaspora have a right to a meaningful vote and the Zimbabwe government should do everything practical and within reason to facilitate this. The Zimbabwe government is already offering this to Zimbabweans on government business abroad, it will not cost much in time, money and energy to extend the facility to include the rest. What one must question here, however, is the wisdom taking the nation's eyes off the important and urgent matter stopping the ongoing flawed and illegal electoral process to pursue the diaspora vote.
The need for the people in the diaspora to exercise their democratic right to vote is important. The need to stop the flawed and illegal elections going ahead next year until the reforms designed to stop the vote rigging are implemented is the single most important and urgent on the national agenda right now. There is nothing of substance to be gained from winning the diaspora vote if at the end of the day Zanu PF still rigs next year's elections. Nothing!
It would be better for the nation if ZLHR was challenging ZEC's commitment to ensuring all Zimbabweans in the country who wish to register are afforded the opportunity to do so and ZEC's commitment to releasing a verified voters' roll at least one month before the voting day, for example. ZEC should have started the voter registration exercise in 2015 and not last month, less than a year, to the voting day; even with the best will in the world, there is no way the commission can deliver on its two commitments.
ZLHR should be asking ZEC through the Constitutional Court to prove the commission can still register 7 million, release a verified voters' roll, etc. in the time frame left before next year's elections. Failure to do so, then the Court must stop the current flawed and illegal electoral process from proceeding any further and call for the necessary democratic reforms and appointment of a more competent ZEC.
The same corrupt and incompetent ZEC failed to produce a verified voters' roll for the July 2013 elections; a fact noted in the AU election observer team's report. It will be criminal and dereliction of one's duty by all concerned if next year's elections were to go ahead without such a key and fundament document as a verified voters' roll!
Even if the regime was to give in and allow some people in the diaspora to vote; what good will that be to the nation if Zanu PF rigs the vote at the end of the day!
SADC leaders advised Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends NOT to contest the July 2013 elections without implementing the reforms first. As we all know, MDC leaders ignored the advice and contested the elections; which Zanu PF, gratefully, went on to blatantly rig.
Since the rigged July 2013 elections, the country has not implemented even one reform; SADC leaders' advice not to contest flawed elections is even more germane today than back in 2013. This time, it is not just MDC leaders who have been warned of the folly of contesting flawed elections, we have all been warned. We will all look very foolish indeed if we secured the diaspora vote but fail to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!
"What a frivolous pursuit. The so-called ZLHR just wants to apply for more USAID funds to eat, nothing more. I won't be surprised to find out that none of them has registered to vote," was Tengenenge's response to the diaspora law suit.
Diaspora vote is important but to take the nation's eyes off the important and urgent matter of making sure reforms are implemented before elections in pursuit of diaspora vote would indeed be frivolous!
Source - Nomusa Garikai
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