The Southern African Liaison Office

The Southern African Liaison Office

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SALO Public Dialogue following the Zimbabwe elections – 25 August 2023

SALO

The Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) invites you to a virtual, public dialogue following the 2023 Zimbabwe elections.

Watch here: https://fb.watch/njXNYtVnxt/

Zimbabwe’s elections will take place this week on Wednesday 23 August. While many were very fearful of a violent election season, compared to previous years, there has been a relatively low level of violence. Last week in a SALO dialogue, Babra Bhebe (Election Resource Centre) said that “We have seen that it has been generally calm, with isolated incidences of violence, in comparison to previous elections…but in the previous week, we have seen an escalation of violence”. This in addition to allegations of vote-buying, increasing lawfare and the conduct of the ZEC bring into question the type of environment that elections will be conducted in. 

The objective of SALO’s public dialogue this week, two days after the 2023 Zimbabwe election, is to provide a platform to analyse the election itself as well as the impact of unaccountable and repressive governance on Zimbabwe and the region; to develop a unified understanding of the obstacles to change, and lessons learnt in previous elections being brought to bear on the 2023 harmonised elections in Zimbabwe. It is clear that civil society has made significant contributions to Zimbabwe’s political landscape, shaping the opposition and driving international discussions on the nation’s future. Prof Brian Raftopolous, in SALO’s previous webinar, highlighted some of the gains made by civil society arguing that “we wouldn’t have an opposition without the role of the trade unions and other civic movements; we wouldn’t have a broader regional international discussion on Zimbabwe without the advocacy that has taken place from civil society groups.” Join us in this vital conversation to understand the complex web of factors surrounding two decades of disputed and often violent Zimbabwe elections and explore the path to a more democratic and accountable future.