By Christina Amann BERLIN, June 23 (Reuters) - The mass emigration from Zimbabwe could hurt the country's opposition in next year's election where it hopes to gain some ground on President Robert Mugabe's ruling party, a leading opposition figure said. Thousands of Zimbabweans have fled their country to escape the world's fastest shrinking economy outside a war zone. Today some 2 million out of the country's estimated 12 million people live in South Africa. Experts say tens of thousands of others have left Zimbabwe for other African countries and Europe, especially Britain. Many of those are professionals. Abednico Bhebhe, deputy spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change's (MDC) parliamentary faction, said that exodus could hurt the opposition's chances to put a dent in the ruling ZANU-PF's grip on power. "Our active voters are going to South Africa or Europe," he told Reuters on Friday. Voter registration for next year's election opened this month, amid charges from civic groups and the opposition that the process was tilted towards ZANU-PF's rural support bases. Many third-generation Zimbabweans, mostly farm labourers and mineworkers who had been disqualified from voting after citizenship laws were amended in 2003, have been asked to re-apply to have their citizenship reinstated. Mugabe's government is also currently pushing for a constitutional amendment to, among other provisions, increase the number of seats in the lower house of parliament from 150 to 210, with most of the existing rural constituencies expected to be split up. Bhebhe is part of a group of opposition activists close to MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara who came to Germany to meet with officials to discuss the situation in their country. They also plan visits to Britain and the United States. He warned the situation in Zimbabwe was fragile and there could be more violence. "The anger is there and you can't rule it out," he said about the possibility tensions could spill onto the streets. "Whoever's sitting in the kitchen can feel the heat and the people of Zimbabwe are sitting in kitchen," he said. Critics blame Mugabe and his government for the country's economic crisis, marked by inflation of more than 3,700 percent, high unemployment, rising poverty and chronic shortages of fuel, food and foreign currency. Mugabe says the crisis is a result of sabotage by former colonial power Britain and other Western nations who he says are punishing his government for seizing white farms and redistributing the land to poor blacks. Bhebhe called for international food aid to alleviate the suffering of hungry people in Zimbabwe. He also called for a global ban on travel for Mugabe and other high-ranking members of his ZANU-PF party. Most importantly, he said, the opposition needed to take control."We have to do everything we can to get into power," Bhebhe said. (additional reporting by Nelson Banya in Harare)
