President Emmerson Mnangagwa has told Zimbabweans based outside the country that they should come back home if they are interested in voting. The president claimed that the country did not have the resources to allow foreign-based Zimbabweans to vote outside the country. Addressing Zimbabweans in Kigali, Rwanda, Mnangagwa said,
We are not there yet in terms of resources, we do not have the resources to make sure that you vote from where you are. Voting won’t take you 10 minutes, so if you want to vote, just come home and in less than 10 minutes you will have finished voting and go back to your work.
However, this was criticised by MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora who said,
That is unfair, resources have to be availed to ensure Zimbabweans outside the country to vote. They are allowed by the Constitution to vote, fortunately, a case has been argued in the courts on the Diaspora vote and we are waiting for a response.
His statements have an effect of influencing the judgment and it also says even if the courts rule that they should vote his government has taken a stance.
The Constitutional Court reserved ruling on a legal challenge to the government’s decision to bar Zimbabweans based outside the country from voting.
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