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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Zimbabwe rivals agree unity deal |
| 2008-09-12 |
| Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe have reached a deal to share power. After mediating four days of talks in Harare, South African President Thabo Mbeki said the agreement would be signed and made public on Monday. Mr Mbeki did not give any details. Mr Tsvangirai has confirmed the deal, but Mr Mugabe has yet to comment. The government and MDC had already agreed that Mr Tsvangirai would be PM with Mr Mugabe staying on as president. Negotiations have been on-off since the end of July, but have stalled over the allocation of executive power between Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai, bitter rivals for a decade. Aid hopes Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was first to announce the breakthrough, telling reporters simply: "We've got a deal." Later, Mr Mbeki told a news conference the two sides had agreed unanimously to form an inclusive government. He said: "I am absolutely certain that the leadership of Zimbabwe is committed to implementing these agreements." The discussions are thought to have been deadlocked over how many ministries each party should have in a unity government, and how much power Mr Mugabe should retain. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the BBC: "Both political parties are committed, it's our wish that the deal will be successful." BBC Africa editor Martin Plaut says the agreement opens the way for international donors to help to revive Zimbabwe's economy. It is now the fastest shrinking in the world with inflation galloping to more than 11m%. Mr Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, won a controversial June presidential run-off election unopposed after Mr Tsvangirai withdrew, claiming the MDC was the target of state-sponsored violence. In the first presidential election in March, Mr Tsvangirai gained more votes than Mr Mugabe, but official results say he did not pass the 50% threshold for outright victory. Citing March's results, Mr Tsvangirai has said he should be head of government and lead cabinet meetings, while Mr Mugabe should be relegated to a ceremonial position. Earlier on Thursday Gordon Brown, prime minister of the UK, the country's former colonial ruler, said any power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe would be judged by how much it reflected legitimate election results. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 " And Morgan Tsvangirai will be Inspector of Latrines..." |
| Posted by: Grunter 2008-09-12 08:41 |