Mutambara says exiles must vote

Mutambara says exiles must vote

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN opposition leader Arthur Mutambara says Zimbabweans based outside the country should be allowed to vote.

Addressing cheering supporters in Manchester Sunday, the swaggering former NASA rocket scientist said it was a "generational mandate" to push for the exiles to be allowed to vote.

"We are saying no to taxation without representation," said Mutambara, leader of the fractious opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

He added: "The denial of voting rights to the millions of Zimbabweans based in foreign countries is a travesty that needs generational intervention. That generational mandate falls on us."

Mutambara was in England as part of a tour of several European countries. He was expected to leave for Norway on Monday.

The MDC leader also spoke about his attempts to re-brand the MDC since his election in February. The MDC, he said, is need of an image make-over to rid it of its "jacket of puppetry" -- reference to fears expressed by some African governments that the MDC was too closely supported by Britain and the United States.

He said: "We are trying to build a principled, patriotic political party. We are not going to accept any (foreign) assistance that compromises our dignity and sovereignty.

"Zanu PF will soon discover that they can no longer win elections by simply claiming credit for the liberation struggle. We have pulled the rug from under their feet."

Mutambara said the re-branding was necessary in order for the party to gain acceptability from African governments which remain firmly behind President Robert Mugabe.

He said: "There was a perception that the MDC was a puppet party and that was very damaging. As a party, we are throwing away the jacket of puppetry. It's a new day. We come to you on the shoulders of Nikita Mangena, Josiah Tongogara and others."
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