Zimbabwe power-sharing deal close

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will hold a make-or-break meeting in Harare on Sunday aimed at finalising a power-sharing deal, a South African newspaper reported on Friday.

It is understood the two are not “too far apart”, although the central issues remain unresolved, Business Day reported, citing unnamed sources.

Mugabe said on Thursday that the talks were going well, but dismissed media reports about a draft agreement as nonsense.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, lead regional mediator in Zimbabwe, was expected to fly to Harare Saturday or Sunday for the talks, said Business Day.

Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) began talking more than two weeks ago to defuse a crisis that came to a head after Mugabe was re-elected in a widely condemned June poll boycotted by the opposition.

Business Day said Mugabe, in power since 1980, and old foe Tsvangirai are said to have been in contact several times while the talks continued to seek common ground on the delicate issue of power and positions, the newspaper said.

The two sides are under heavy international pressure, including from within Africa, to resolve a crisis that has ruined the once prosperous economy and flooded neighbouring states with millions of refugees.

Under a draft settlement reported in South Africa’s Star newspaper on Wednesday, Tsvangirai would run the country while Mugabe would become ceremonial president.

A settlement could be a political coup for Mbeki, who has come under intense domestic and international criticism for not taking a tough line with Mugabe, a strategy he says would only undermine efforts to end the turmoil.

Mbeki will host a summit of regional leaders in South Africa on Aug. 16.

It could give him a high-profile opportunity to showcase a hard-fought deal. - Reuters