By Nkosana Dlamini
THE SAPES Dialogue Forum moves to Bulawayo this Friday with a strong panel of eminent speakers lined up for a discussion which takes a binocular view of the forthcoming harmonised elections under the heading “Towards credible, free, fair and peaceful elections 2018 elections: Prospects and Challenges.”
SAPES Trust chairman Dr Ibbo Mandaza is set to share the podium with Election Resource Centre director Tawanda Chimhini, Open Society Southern Africa director Sipho Malunga as well as Sukoluhle Ncube, a political expert.
The discussion will also feature representatives from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission while top cleric and rights advocate Reverend Useni Sibanda will chair the dialogue.
Zimbabwe is set to hold its first ever national elections without long serving President Robert Mugabe and his arch-rival Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC-T.
Mugabe was deposed in a military coup in November last year while Tsvangirai succumbed to a long battle with cancer in February this year.
Incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa has pledged to hold a free and fair election but his regime’s failure to roll out key electoral reforms has cast doubt over his sincerity to deliver a flawless poll.