Judgment No. CCZ 4/18 3 Case No. CCZ 3/18 the Act does not facilitate the registration and voting of Zimbabweans based abroad, the applicants contend that the result is a negation of s 67 (3) as read with para 1 (2) of the 4th Schedule to the Constitution. They further aver that subs 23 (3) and 72 of the Act are discriminatory for the reason that they restrict the right to vote only to persons physically in Zimbabwe, to the prejudice of absent voters. They contend that the benefit extended to a certain class of people under s 72 of the Act unjustly discriminates against them because they are not in government service nor are they spouses of such civil servants. The applicants in addition allege that denial of the diaspora vote is contrary to international law, that is, Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ss 4.1.1, 4.1.8 and 5.1.8 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, and Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Mr Mpofu for the applicants further argues that the right to vote given under s 67 (3) of the Constitution does not depend on anything other than citizenship and age. He also relied on s 155 (1)(c) of the Constitution which he described as an ‘executionary provision’. The contention in this regard is that all voters are equal, regardless of where a person is residing for a particular period. Mr Mpofu further contends that the right accorded in the Constitution cannot be attenuated by legislation and that, in terms of s 35 (3)(a) of the Constitution, the State is obliged to ‘follow’ its citizens wherever they are, this obligation not being informed by the location of the citizen but by the citizenship of the person. In terms of s 67 (3) as read with the 4th Schedule to the Constitution, it is further argued, everyone not disqualified from voting is entitled to vote. Citizens in the diaspora are not disqualified from voting. The 4th Schedule is different from its equivalent under the erstwhile Constitution, and does not detract from ss 67, 35 and 155 of the Constitution. He postulates that the according of a right to vote can only have meaning if it is given to a person who would otherwise not have voted. Once a citizen remains