A DIASPORA-BASED pressure group, MyRight2Vote led by former Ntabazinduna Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni has challenged government to allow Zimbabweans in the diaspora to vote.
The southern African country’s diaspora population is estimated to be between four and seven million people, though it is generally accepted that it is over five million people, representing a third of the entire population.
Recently, the government said it would only allow diasporans vote if the West removed sanctions imposed on some people in its leadership.
“The government’s relationship with the Zimbabwean diaspora has been regrettable. The government has not done anything to cultivate and enable the Zimbabwean diaspora to engage with it on a mutual trust basis,” Ndiweni said in a statement from his United Kingdom base.
“To date, the government has been rather benefiting from the over US$1,4 billion remittances that the Zimbabwean diaspora sends to Zimbabwe per annum.”
Ndiweni said these remittances formed the basis of “the reserves” of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, yet the government has refused to give the diasporans the right to vote for over 30 years.
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“Such a position is unacceptable,” Ndiweni said.
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