It is a decision that could potentially change the electoral game in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
In a landmark ruling, the African Commission on Human and People\u2019s Rights (ACHPR) has passed a provisional measure directing the government to allow exiled Zimbabweans and those living abroad to vote in the country\u2019s referendum this Saturday and \u2013 much more critically \u2013 in the general elections tentatively scheduled for July.<\/p>\n
It will come as a severe blow to President Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, who have long fought to ensure that the large number of Zimbabweans who left the country in the past decade for political and economic reasons (up to 3 million by some estimates) cannot vote \u2013 knowing that the majority of them are likely to side with the MDC.<\/p>\n
It will also be very difficult for ZANU to counter the decision since its normal rhetoric \u2013 that any criticism is part of a western, neo-colonial plot \u2013 cannot be rolled out in this case.<\/p>\n