Mugabe at odds with Tsvangirai over power-sharing

Mugabe at odds with Tsvangirai over power-sharing

NO DEAL: Tsvangirai is at odds with President Mugabe over who will be head of government

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• South Africa slams western sanctions on Zim

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• Text: Memorandum of Understanding between Zanu PF and MDC

By Staff Reporters
Last updated: 13/08/2008 00:50:47
ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe and breakaway MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara agree on power-sharing, but his main rival Morgan Tsvangirai asked for more time to reflect on negotiations, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Tuesday.

Mbeki, who is mediating in the talks, told reporters Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change leader Tsvangirai disagree on who will run the country.

"The point at which we are now is that we have dealt with all the critical elements on which President Mugabe and Mutambara agree, but there's disagreement with one element over which Morgan Tsvangirai has asked for more time to reflect," he said.

Mutambara told New Zimbabwe.com: "There is no seperate deal between us and Zanu PF. We have not signed anything. It's a three-way negotiation, everything is being done between the three parties. Three people can only sign."

Mutambara said he would hold a press conference on Wednesday to explain their position.

Mugabe walked out of a hotel in central Harare where the talks took place some five hours after arriving, refusing to discuss details of the negotiations that have followed his widely condemned re-election.

"Talks can never collapse as long as we have tongues," the 84-year-old said.

Tsvangirai spoke briefly to reporters waiting outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel, confirming that President Mbeki would issue a statement later Tuesday.

The chief negotiator for Tsvangirai's party, Tendai Biti, left later, saying the talks would "most likely" resume on Wednesday.

"The talks have not collapsed. It's just a time out (break)," he said. Asked if there were issues they had failed to resolve, he said: "There is nothing that cannot be overcome."

A deal between Mugabe and Tsvangirai began to look unlikely when a Zanu PF official said late Monday that "Tsvangirai was moving goalposts, forcing us to negotiate issues which we had already agreed upon."

A key issue is whether Mugabe will be ready to give up powers that helped him keep a tight grip on Zimbabwe for more than 20 years. Who will control security forces is another critical question.

"Mugabe is refusing to concede that if he is head of state as accepted by the MDC, then Tsvangirai should be the head of government," said an MDC official who did not wish to be identified.

"It's now up to President Mbeki to plot the way forward but the issue is that Tsvangirai has refused to sign any agreement that will not recognise him as head of government.

"We can't move from that position and so there is a deadlock."

Among other fresh demands which are said to have jolted Mbeki, Mugabe and Mutambara during negotiations on Monday afternoon, Tsvangirai wanted parliament to sit as an electoral college and vote for a Prime Minister and President.

Tsvangirai also wanted the term of any power-sharing authority to be limited to two years -- meaning Zimbabweans would go to the polls in 2010. The deal on the table was for a five-year term for the power-sharing government to be reviewed after two-and-half years.

The latest demands, say sources, reversed all the agreements signed by his party's appointed negotiators -- Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma -- in two-week-long discussions in South Africa with Zanu PF negotiators, and those from Mutambara's party.

A source close to the talks told New Zimbabwe.com: "Tsvangirai disregarded everything agreed by his negotiators in South Africa. It was like no negotiations had ever taken place. He repudiated all the positions taken in South Africa. He took what others were giving (compromises), but wanted more. It was back to pre-MoU (Memorandum of Understanding)."

Earlier Monday, Tsvangirai had demanded to chair Cabinet meetings, in the process confirming him as head of government -- a demand that strikes into the heart of President Mugabe's legitimacy after a disputed June 27 presidential run-off which Mugabe won unopposed. Tsvangirai pulled out five days before the election, citing violence against his supporters.

In the first round election on March 29, Tsvangirai finished ahead of Mugabe and two other candidates, but failed to amass the 50+1 percentage share of the vote required by law for him to be declared outright winner.

President Mbeki, appointed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional trade bloc to mediate in the crisis, has been battling to secure a deal between the parties. His push for a deal has received backing from the African Union and the United Nations which blocked a British-led push for sanctions against President Mugabe's government.

Mbeki has been in Zimbabwe since Saturday. His spokesman said he expected him to return home on Tuesday.

Mbeki will report to SADC heads of state at a summit later this week, South Africa's deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad said on Tuesday.

"A summit report has to be given [by Mbeki]... if there are successful outcomes that will be a plus," Pahad told a media briefing in Pretoria.

He said, however, if no agreement had been reached then the parties would be encouraged to continue talking until a solution was found.

It was merely a "coincidence" that the possible end to negotiations between the Zimbabwean leaders coincided with the summit.

"We are hoping and praying that it will be a positive response," Pahad said.

Mugabe, who has increasingly relied on the army for support, conferred medals on 16 generals, three of them posthumously, at a ceremony on Tuesday honouring Zimbabwe's military.

The recognition comes as Mugabe tries to keep powerful figures on his side during the talks. The head of the Central Intelligence Organisation was also honoured.

Investors are likely to remain cautious even if there is a breakthrough, seeking reassurances that a new government can rescue what was once one of Africa's most promising economies and safeguard their money, financial analysts say.

All eyes may soon be on Mutambara.

The former robotics professor is emerging as a key player, political analysts say. His faction's members in parliament can support either Mugabe's Zanu PF or Tsvangirai's main MDC party, which have almost equal numbers of seats in the lower house.
(Additional reporting Reuters/AFP)
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