London: exiled Zimbabweans demand vote
Today at 2pm, a group of Zimbabweans are meeting at the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, in an attempt to check that their names are on the voters' roll. Zimbabwean citizens living outside their country have been advised that it is their right to vote in the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe (expected in March) and that the voters' roll should be available for viewing at their nearest Embassy or Consulate from now until 30 January. However Zimbabweans who have sought asylum in the UK (because they have been attacked or tortured in Zimbabwe for their political views) believe the Embassy has made no arrangements for them to vote here. The vigil, which gathers outside the embassy every Saturday, from 2-6pm, is running a petition appealing for the international community's help to ensure free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, including arrangements to be made for voting by the estimated 25% of the electorate who have fled the country. During his visit to England last year, Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo joined the vigil and prayed with campaigners. For more information see: www.zimvigil.co.uk