Before independence, Madam Speaker, this is how the architecture of this country was. People only participated in elections if they had a certain level of education, I think then it was JC, which is form two or in lieu of education, they must have had some property or some money because the argument was that when you are voting, you are voting to protect something. People in the diaspora must be allowed to vote. If they are going to remit $1 billion into this country in a financial year, they must be able to vote because they are protecting the money that they are bringing into this country. We cannot say we want the diaspora money and yet we do not allow them to vote. It is a travesty of justice and that must be looked at and it must be enshrined in this Constitution that people in the diaspora must vote and just as much as we want their money, we must also want their vote. There is this fear of the unknown by the status quo that people in the diaspora will vote for the MDC-T. I do not know where this came from that people in the diaspora will vote for the opposition – [AN HON. MEMBER: No one is saying that.] – and if no one says that, then people in the diaspora must be allowed to vote.
Now let me go on to another issue. When we were talking to ZEC they said Treasury had promised them $95 million and the other money was going to come from traditional partners and funders. One of the traditional funders they were talking about is UNDP. We are going to run an election and we call ourselves a sovereign State and yet in that election, we are saying the UNDP must give us money to run that election.
HON. MATANGIRA: On a point of order, Madam Speaker.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Can you please approach the Chair.
HON. MARIDADI: Let him expose himself if he wants to do so.
THE TEMPORARY SPEAKER: Hon. Maridadi, you may continue.
HON. MARIDADI: Thank you Madam Speaker for that commercial break. I was talking about $95 million which ZEC has been promised by Treasury because they need $148 million and $95 million has been promised by Treasury and the remainder, they said, is going to come from traditional partners, traditional funders like UNDP and I was saying, we are a sovereign State. When we get to electioneering, we need to be funded by Europe and the United States of America. That must be really looked at.
Madam Speaker, I want to go and talk about media. This election must be free, fair and credible. There are things in this country which will show that the election is free and fair – the media coverage. Madam Speaker, what should essentially happen is that when president of party A gets five minutes on television addressing a rally, president of party B must also be able to get five minutes addressing their rally. I am talking of this in relation to a rally that was held by President of the Opposition, Advocate Chamisa seated here. He addressed a rally in Chinhoyi for two hours. I have been watching ZBC ever since Saturday and I have not seen a one minute clip of Adv. Chamisa addressing that rally. He is President of the biggest opposition party in this country which is represented in this Parliament and yet he does not get coverage on ZBC of which I think is not fair.
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