Nelson Chamisa, the president of Zimbabwe's largest opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), considers it possible to hold a dialogue
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) Nelson Chamisa, the president of Zimbabwe's largest opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), considers it possible to hold a dialogue with the country's president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, if "core issues" to be discussed, Nkululeko Sibanda, the presidential spokesman for the MDC party, told Sputnik on Thursday.
Earlier in the month, on February 6, Mnangagwa invited representatives of all of the country's political parties over 20 politicians who were his rivals in the 2018 presidential elections to join a national dialogue without preconditions. Sibanda told Sputnik same day that Chamisa refused the invitation, citing the lack of a neutral moderator and the absence of a discussion on issues such as legitimacy of the government, the economy and the application of the constitution.
"I think that the dialogue can be held. President Chamisa will be the first at the venue, President Chamisa will put forward no conditions at all, as long as what is needed is to discuss core issues," Sibanda said.
The spokesman added that the dialogue could help make progress on such crucial issues as political legitimacy.
"The call for a national dialogue, which is genuine, is important and can go a long way in resolving our problems into the future ... We are in a place where President Chamisa has already shown that he will attend a neutral dialogue, one that looks serious," Sibanda said.
Calls for a national dialogue have been getting louder in Zimbabwe in light of the country's violent suppression of nationwide protests against increased fuel prices by 150 percent, which came into effect in mid-January. Demonstrations which spread through the country's capital Harare and the second-largest city of Bulawayo subsequently engulfed the nation.
