MDC threatens to block Amendment 19

• Mugabe raps 'prostitute' Tsvangirai

• Alfi Nyoni: Why Tsvangirai must join government

• Africa shows little appetite for Zim sanctions, intervention

• SA tells Zim leaders to put lives before politics

• Mugabe tells supporters to be ready for new elections

• Post Editorial: Tsvangirai pushing his luck too far

• Zambian newspaper lashes Tsvangirai, warns of 'shifting tide of public opinion'

• Document: Tendai Biti's letter to Mbeki

• Negotiators strike agreement on Constitutional Amendment No. 19

• Talks threatened as Mbeki, Tsvangirai trade barbs

• Mbeki letter 'angers' Tsvangirai

• Zanu PF, MDC negotiators meet in SA

• Elders urge MDC to join unity government

• ANC team to press for Zimbabwe deal

• Motlanthe wants Zim rivals to be sworn-in

• Tsvangirai eyes new Zimbabwe government in 2 months

• South Africa withholds aid to Zimbabwe

• Text: statement by South Africa cabinet on Zimbabwe

• Zimbabwe negotiators set to meet over draft Bill

• Constitutional Amendment 19 draft sent to Mbeki

• Tsvangirai seeks EU support for inclusive government

• MDC (Tsvangirai) national council resolutions

• Tsvangirai's MDC to join unity government

• Tsvangirai running out of options - analysts

• Zanu PF asks Mugabe to form new government

• SADC leans heavily on Tsvangirai to share Home Affairs

• Mugabe vows to form new government

• Document: SADC communique on Zimbabwe, DRC

By Nelson Banya
Posted to the web: 15/12/2008 02:36:13
ZIMBABWE has published a draft constitutional law to create a unity government but the opposition MDC on Sunday vowed to block the proposed changes until its demands for equitable power-sharing are met.

President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the larger MDC faction, agreed to form a unity government in September, but the deal has stalled over disagreements on control of key ministries.

The state-run Sunday Mail reported that the constitutional amendment bill -- creating the office of prime minister for Tsvangirai -- had been published on Saturday. Tsvangirai's MDC immediately rejected the move, saying it was not consulted.

"This was done unilaterally by (the ruling party) Zanu PF," said spokesman, Nelson Chamisa. "The gazetting was supposed to have been done after consultations."

He said MDC-T had not seen the published Bill to establish whether it conforms with the draft agreed by the two parties during talks held in South Africa last month.

Chamisa said MDC-T wanted its concerns on the allocation of ministerial posts and provincial governorships addressed before the constitutional amendments could be dealt with.

"What we are saying is that these political issues will stand in the way of the legal process. We need to clear the political issues first before moving on to the constitution," Chamisa said.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill will be open for public scrutiny for a 30-day period. If there are no hurdles in parliament, it should take a further two weeks to be passed -- meaning realistically Zimbabwe will not have a government until the end of January.

On Saturday, state media quoted Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa as saying Mugabe could call fresh elections if the opposition-dominated parliament fails to pass constitutional changes for the unity government.

Tsvangirai's MDC won 100 seats in the 210-member lower house of parliament in a March poll as Zanu PF lost its majority for the first time since 1980, garnering 99 seats. The balance is held by a smaller faction of the MDC, led by Arthur Mutambara which has 10 seats.

Tsvangirai outpolled Mugabe in a presidential poll held concurrently but fell short of the necessary votes to avoid a run-off poll which the 84-year-old veteran leader won after Tsvangirai pulled out of the race citing violence.

The second vote was widely condemned and Mugabe has come under renewed Western pressure to step down in the face of a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly 800 people, worsening the plight of Zimbabweans grappling with an economic meltdown blamed on government mismanagement.

Mugabe's government says the cholera outbreak is a calculated attack by former colonial ruler Britain and the United States which have used "biological warfare" to create an excuse to mobilise military action against Zimbabwe. - Reuters
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