Zimbabwe’s political rivals failed to secure agreement in power-sharing talks on Monday, but President Robert Mugabe and the opposition hinted that the deadlock could be broken soon.
Asked by reporters if he had reached a deal with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, who is leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Mugabe said: ”Not yet.”
”[But] we are moving forward, we are not going back. It was a good meeting,” he added.
Tsvangirai, who left the meeting venue shortly after Mugabe’s departure, did not speak to journalists.
His party’s spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa, told reporters that ”negotiations are still in progress” and expressed hope that the talks would be finalised on Tuesday.
”We are trying to find areas of consensus,” he added. ”There are still some serious differences, but we are trying to narrow those [differences]. We are hoping to finalise the process tomorrow [Tuesday].”
South African President Thabo Mbeki is mediating restarted talks at a Harare hotel between Mugabe and his political rivals — Tsvangirai, and the head of a smaller MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara.
For his part, Mutambara told journalists that six negotiators, two from each of the three parties, were working on issues outstanding while the three leaders adjourned.
He did not give details of what these issues were.
”The struggle continues unabated,” he said in response to a question if he saw any hope in the talks.
Talks stalled last month when the main MDC, the biggest party in Parliament following elections in March, balked at a proposal that would allow Mugabe to retain control of the country’s security ministries.
Mbeki’s trip came after Mugabe threatened last week to form his own Cabinet if Tsvangirai delayed signing a document to pave the way for a power-sharing deal.
Tsvangirai called on Sunday for fresh elections, supervised by international observers, if problems in power-sharing talks persisted.
”If there are continued problems over the presidency, then we go for national elections supervised by the international community,” he told supporters at a rally marking nine years of growth for his MDC.
He also insisted that he would only sign a deal that gives him ”sufficient” power.
”We would rather have no deal than a bad deal,” he said.
Speaking earlier at the same rally, Tsvangirai’s deputy, Tendai Biti, said the talks had stalled over powers invested in the president by the current Constitution.
”That’s the sticking point,” he said. ”It’s the issue of the powers of the president as enshrined in this Constitution that is [blocking] these talks ….”
Power-sharing discussions began after the rivals signed a memorandum of understanding on July 21 in Harare.
Mugabe won a June 27 run-off poll after Tsvangirai withdrew from the vote despite finishing ahead of the president in the March first round, citing widespread election violence against his supporters.
While the political crisis has dragged on, Zimbabwe’s economy has continued its freefall with a bewilderingly exponential inflation rate and major food shortages. — Sapa-AFP