The Diaspora Vote - Is it really deserved or needed?

As the dust settles on the constitutional referendum, and observers go back to the safety of their places in different countries in the world, Zimbabweans are left with the glaring prospect of an election which looks like it will be no different from the 2008 fiasco that gave life to the ill-conceived Government of National Unity; this judging from the events on the ground even before the votes were tallied.

Human Rights activists again find themselves having to duck and dive as the famed Zimbabwe Republic Police plays it's very partisan hand. Beatrice Mthethwa, the famed human rights lawyer and activist is, along with others, being shuttled from pillar to post in the diabolic system of the partisan police and intelligence machinery.  

In all of this hullaballoo, a constant murmuring has been heard emanating from Zimbabwe's sizeable Diaspora community; scattered in all corners of the world, including, as I discovered recently, as far afield as Siberia! This murmuring is about the right of the "Diasporians" to exercise the right to vote in the upcoming elections.

Legal fundis such as Alex Magaisa have given very good treatise on the legal aspect of the question in recent articles; and mine seeks neither to refute nor agree with such expert opinion. Mine is the viewpoint of just an ordinary Zimbabwean, looking at this from the outside in;
My take on this question is as follows;

Although I have a very clear understanding of the amount of funds remitted by people in the Diaspora to the economy in Zimbabwe, I am of the opinion that this does not give adequate impetus to the notion of the right to vote. After all, for whatever reasons, political as well as pseudo-political; we have left our country and relatives back in Zimbabwe and decided to settle in these lands far. The people we left on the ground have had to deal with wave after wave of the mistakes of those in power now, and I think that having borne those consequences; the people who remained in Zimbabwe have both the legal as well as moral right to elect who must lead our country going forward.

For those in the Diaspora to demand this right as vocally as they are doing is akin to a son who has left his father's house for whatever reason; but because he occasionally sends some groceries home, now demands to have a say in what colour his father's house must be painted this summer! It does not add up! You have your own house now; be it in a one-room so-called "bed-sit" in Brixton, UK; or behind a curtain in Hillbrow's notorious flat-land; that is where you have chosen to live, and that is where your voice must be heard more vigorously.

The cost of organising for people in the Diaspora would be very prohibitive; and at this moment in time; I am of the opinion that if people in the Diaspora are interested in voting, then they must be willing to contribute to the financial cost of this process via a defined levy of some sort. There is very little stopping people in the Diaspora from making the long journey from all corners of the world if they are really interested in taking up this constitutionally protected right to vote. Such a contribution would help tremendously in reducing the costs to facilitate their right to vote. My assumption is that if you are willing to vote, then you still have all the legitimate papers that would enable you to take part in such an event, but this must be at each individual person's cost. If it means that those in the Diaspora contribute to the costs of setting up the voting infrastructure wherever they are located, so be it! Here I am particularly thinking of, and comparing with, situations in the rural areas where people make their way to the polling booths at their own costs; be it by donkey cart, by foot or by bus. The State can only provide the minimum requirement in setting up the infrastructure required for citizens to exercise their constitutional right. Its duty cannot extend to providing same for people who voluntarily refuse to return to exercise this right.  Civic rights must always be accompanied by a civic responsibility!

On the issue of the cost of making the vote available for those in the Diaspora; if they are not willing to pay for this right; it is, as already mentioned bound to be very prohibitive; and the country faces, and will continue to face insurmountable challenges of re-building the infrastructure that has been destroyed by years of neglect. In my opinion, it would not be a wise use of our resources to dedicate money to ensuring that someone living in the far reaches of China is able to vote, when in Gwanda, children are having lessons under a tree. If you are interested in voting, and you are in the Diaspora, you would need to make means to ensure that you enjoy your constitutional right as a citizen of Zimbabwe.

The other issue to confront on the Diaspora vote is if, somehow, by the means given above, they do get to vote; must they be allowed to vote in all categories of the election? The question arises because local issues must be decided upon by locals. It does not make sense to have an individual who has been based in the UK for the past "donkey" years to be able to decide on the issue of the local MP via the vote. What knowledge do they have of the issues on the ground? How do they get to judge the incumbent office holders, and decide that they have performed or not performed? I would perhaps, on the stretch also, advocate a system where the people in the Diaspora can vote only for the Presidential part of the elections; given the fact that the president is the face of the country, and no matter where you may be based, whatever he does, he would continue to represent the individuals, home-based as well Diaspora based.

In conclusion; there are varying statistics on the number of Zimbabweans living outside their country; ranging from 2 million to 5 million. The majority of these people have been outside Zimbabwe for a very long time; and as they clamour for the right to vote, one must be very careful not to confuse nostalgia and reality. The reality of it is that a very large proportion of these people have "settled" in their countries of "refuge"; and although they will continue to refer to Zimbabwe as "home"; the reality is that most of them will never go back to Zimbabwe to settle on a full time basis; at least not in the near future. They have children in school; they have house bonds, cars and good jobs. The effect of any move to Zimbabwe would throw the social structures they have created into total haywire! With the intermarriages that have taken place over the years; the chances of spouses of foreign extraction to stand up and commit to go and live full time in Zimbabwe is almost non-existent.

And so this raises my final question in this whole issue; what then does the vote mean to Zimbabweans in the Diaspora? Why do they want to be able to make decisions about a place that most of them hardly even recognise? Is it just nostalgia at play, or does the Zimbabwean Diaspora really y need and deserve the right to vote?

Thamsanqa N. Ncube ©2013
Thamsanqa N. Ncube is a Finance/Operations Manager for the United Nations in Pretoria, South Africa. He writes in his personal capacity.
He can be contacted at thamsanqa.ncube@live.co.za