According to the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, which is hosting the meetings, the Zimbabwean Diaspora voters’ lack of political information about the country’s imminent election “already raises important concerns about the poll’s fairness and credibility.”
The group is hosting a series of workshops in the Diaspora to tackle this disenfranchisement of exiled Zimbabweans, for whom the vote means much more than just a change in government.
The latest workshop is happening in Durban, South Africa on Saturday.
“For millions of Zimbabweans living in South Africa, voting can mean either their continued stay outside their country or the ushering in of a new dispensation of freedom and economic development that allows them to return home. The latter can only happen if the five million Zimbabweans in the Diaspora are guaranteed ways to participate in the elections on 31 July 2013,” the Exiles Forum said.
The group’s Diana Zimbudzana said that the Diaspora has been denied a chance to participate properly by the refusal of the government to make allowances for the Diaspora vote. This is despite an international court order to do so, an order Zimbabwe’s government has completely ignored.
“The main purpose of the workshops is to find out from the people themselves what they want and what they hope from the elections. We are also trying to conscientise people about the Diaspora vote case, and educate them about what the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum can do for them,” Zimbudzana told SW Radio Africa.
She added: “We realise that the Zimbabwe government has refused and has not commented about it (the case) and what is more disappointing is that all the political parties have not said anything about the Diaspora vote. And we have resigned ourselves to this. But we have said we can just sit and let things be. So we are encouraging people, who can afford to, to go to Zimbabwe end cast their votes.”
The workshops are not just a discussion point, but also a way to unite the Diaspora to share information and support each other during the elections.
“People are really tired of living in a country that is not their homeland, but then want to go back to a Zimbabwe where they can live freely and participate in the issues affecting Zimbabwe freely,” Zimbudzana said.
The Saturday workshop is happening at the UNISA Durban campus, and will begin at 8:30 am. – SW Radio Africa News
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