President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday to push President Robert Mugabe and his opponents to sign a document guaranteeing free elections.
Mbeki was upbeat on his arrival in Harare, repeating that he was certain a deal was within sight, but he found the two sides further apart.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has announced a series of protests against Mugabe, who has reiterated he will not yield to opposition demands for a postponement of elections and a new constitution before polling day.
Mbeki met Mugabe and members of the MDC separately, but faced ‘great difficulty†in getting them to agree on a timetable for the introduction of a new constitution — the content of which is already agreed — and also on when elections can be held.
George Charamba, Mugabe’s spokesperson, said Mbeki was to concentrate on breaking a deadlock over ‘procedureâ€.
‘It would appear there is some deadlock over procedure, and not on substance, which is why Mbeki is here to consult with all involved,†Charamba said.
Mugabe said the opposition wanted a delay only because ‘they are not readyâ€, but the MDC said more time was needed for a raft of laws agreed between the two sides to be put in place before a firm election date could be set.
‘At the moment we cannot say the conditions are conducive for the staging of elections whose outcome would be accepted by all,†said Tendai Biti, one of the MDC negotiators at the Mbeki talks.
Mbeki had told visiting Irish leader Bertie Ahern in Pretoria earlier in the week that he was ‘within days†of a deal, but yesterday he found himself having to cool tensions between the Zimbabwean antagonists.
The MDC has called a street demonstration for next Wednesday to protest against ‘a failed stateâ€, Biti said.
For close to a year Mbeki has sought an agreement that guarantees elections whose outcome will not be contested. But the MDC has threatened to boycott the polls, a development Mbeki realises would only bolster the issues of legitimacy that have dogged Mugabe’s government.
‘He cannot allow any of the two sides to go into the election in protest. The whole point of these talks is to have a government whose legitimacy is not in question, so some compromise will have to reached,†a senior government official conceded as Mbeki held the first in a series of talks on Thursday.
Zuma lawyers’ new plan
ANC president Jacob Zuma’s legal team is planning to bring an application for a permanent stay of the charges against him before the end of this month.
Zuma’s lawyer, Michael Hulley, on Thursday confirmed that they are busy finalising an application to declare Zuma’s trial unfair and hope to be in court within the next three weeks.
‘It could happen towards the end of this month or in the first week of February,†Hulley said. He would not be drawn on the exact form of the application or the legal team Zuma intended using to fight the 16 charges against him.
The national prosecuting authority indicted Zuma on December 27 2007 and served a summons on him to appear in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on August 4.
Zuma is facing charges of racketeering, corruption, money laundering and fraud. — Adriaan Basson