Zimbabwe political rivals meeting in Harare could sign a power-sharing deal on Wednesday, veteran President Robert Mugabe said late on Tuesday following negotiations.
“We are finishing tomorrow, hopefully. We are still going to talk, there are one or two areas of disagreement,” Mugabe said as he left the venue for the talks.
A government source had earlier said that there was “room for optimism that this deal would be signed tomorrow and that President Robert Mugabe will form a government anytime from tomorrow or this week”.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has faced heavy pressure to sign a deal throughout different stages of talks, and earlier in the day, all three rival parties signalled that no deal was anticipated.
However, Tsvangirai later acknowledged that there had been some positive development in the negotiations as he left the talks venue.
“This is work in progress and we are hoping that tomorrow we will be able to work on the outstanding issues,” said Tsvangirai, whose party holds the largest number of seats in Parliament after defeating Mugabe in a March vote.
Earlier on Tuesday, a source close to the talks told Agence France-Presse that Tsvangirai had held separate “positive” talks in the morning with Mbeki who flew to Harare on Monday to revive the talks.
His counterpart from the breakaway MDC faction Arthur Mutambara, also expressed optimism that a deal is in sight.
“We have made tremendous progress, there are few remaining issues to be resolved and hopefully tomorrow we will bring finality and closure to this important process of dialogue,” said Mutambara.
The stalled power-sharing talks involving the ruling Zanu-PF, Tsvangirai’s MDC and Mutambara’s splinter faction resumed on Monday after being adjourned for more than two weeks.
Facilitated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, the talks had been deadlocked on the allocation of executive power between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
“It is possible that the SADC troika meeting which is taking place in Swaziland on Wednesday might end up happening here, just to give fanfare to the signing of the agreement,” the government source said.
Swaziland King Mswati III is due to chair the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathering outside the capital Mbabane, where Mbeki was planning to brief regional leaders on the progress of the talks.
Mugabe has been president of Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, but agreed to talks after winning a June 27 run-off vote unopposed amid condemnation from the international community.
While the political crisis has dragged on, Zimbabwe’s economy has continued its freefall with the world’s highest inflation rate — 11,2-million percent in June, according to official figures — and major food shortages.
Mbeki had been criticised for embarking on silent diplomacy throughout the process, but a deal could also allow Mbeki, due to leave office next year, an opportunity to bask in the glory of ending the longstanding Zimbabwean political mess.
Power-sharing discussions began after the bitter political foes signed a memorandum of understanding on July 21 in Harare. – AFP