Dumiso Dabengwa’s Zapu party has started its candidate selection process for the 2018 general elections, with officials saying the opposition party was doing so to avoid being caught unprepared should coalition talks collapse.
Speaking to Southern Eye, Zapu deputy spokesperson, Iphithule Maphosa said:
While we are cognisant of the existence of the Coalition of Democrats (Code), to which we are a full member and fully committed, we, however, will continue identifying and putting in place candidates in all constituencies in case of a remote possibility it doesn’t materialise. However, since we fully subscribe to the notion of a coalition and are working hard for its success, Code electoral processes will be prioritised and, where possible, will supercede our party processes.
Zapu is a member of Code which consists of MDC, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn and Zimbabwe Union for Democrats (Zunde) among others. Under the proposed coalition, the parties hope to field a single candidate to challenge Mugabe. However, the proposed coalition appears to be headed for failure amid reports of mistrust among the leaders.
More: NewsDay
Back to top