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Bulawayo to Host Election Debates
Charles Rukuni Bureau Chief, Financial Gazette
January 17, 2008

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?stid=2014

Bulawayo - Election 2008 debates will kick off in Bulawayo this weekend with representatives of at least three political parties thrashing out issues at a public debate organised by Bulawayo Agenda, a civic organisation that promotes debate, discussions and dialogue on critical issues affecting the nation.

Speakers will include Tsholotsho Member of Parliament, Jonathan Moyo; Eddie Cross of the Movement for Democratic Change (Tsvangirai faction); Paul Themba Nyathi of the Mutambara faction of the MDC and Paul Siwela of ZAPU-FP. Activist Jennie Williams of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) will share the platform.

Moyo is a former government spin-doctor but parted ways with the ruling party when he decided to stand as an independent candidate. He was reportedly associated with a group within the ruling party opposed to the appointment of Joyce Mujuru as vice-president.

Other reports linked him to a new political party, the United People's Movement but he has remained as an independent candidate.

Eddie Cross is a former general manager of the Cold Storage Company and is the MDC's economic adviser.

Nyathi is the Mutambara faction's director of elections. He was a Member of Parliament for Gwanda before losing in 2005 and was also the MDC spokesman before the party split.

Siwela contested the 2002 presidential elections but lost. His party has been advocating a federal government but he said last week he was going to join forces with the Tsvangirai faction of the MDC because they shared the same views. Some members of his party have been trying to oust him without success.

Williams is the national coordinator of WOZA, a civic movement famous for its protest matches during which its members are inevitably arrested.

The Public Order and Security Act under which the women were arrested has since been amended.

National polls, which will include presidential, parliamentary and local government elections, are scheduled for March though there have been calls for them to be postponed to level the political playing field.

Bulawayo Agenda says this weekend's meeting will be the first of a series of debates lined up in preparation for the March elections.

President Robert Mugabe has already been endorsed as the ruling ZANU-PF candidate though there are increasing reports that the party could split before the elections.

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