South Africa calls for transitional government in Zimbabwe

South Africa calls for transitional government in Zimbabwe

• Mbeki's 'scathing' report to Mugabe

• 200 'violence victims' camp at SA embassy

• Mbeki gives emergency summit a miss

• Mbeki urges Mugabe to call off election

• Tsvangirai meets Mbeki over poll

• Mbeki set for Mugabe talks in Bulawayo

• Mbeki 'seriously concerned' over Zimbabwe election

• Mbeki meets Mugabe as pressure grows for end to crisis

• Mbeki must quit Zimbabwe effort - Tsvangirai

• Mbeki defends 'quiet diplomacy', admits crisis

• Mbeki snubs Brown at United Nations

• Top MDC officials calls Mbeki a 'drunkard'

• Makoni, Tsvangirai nudged towards unity government?

• Mugabe blasts 'tiny dot' Brown as Mbeki says 'no crisis'

• Tsvangirai meets Zuma, seeks pressure on Mugabe

• Text: MDC statement on failed SADC dialogue

• Mbeki lauded by SADC over Zimbabwe efforts

• Mbeki says Europe ignorant about Zimbabwe issues

• Joram Nyathi: to isolate or not to isolate Zimbabwe?

• George Mkhwananzi: Beneath the Zanu PF, MDC feud - notes for Mbeki

• Sehlare Makgetlaneng: Mbeki a scapegoat for MDC failure to oppose

• Joram Nyathi: Mbeki mission: we are about to celebrate failure

SOUTH Africa on Monday called on Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party and the opposition to begin talks to form a transitional government.

Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma noted that Zimbabwe remained deeply divided and polarised despite a widely condemned election on Friday, her ministry said.

President Robert Mugabe, declared the overwhelming winnner, was sworn in on Sunday.

"Zanu PF and the MDC must enter into negotiations which will lead to the formation of a transitional government that can extricate Zimbabwe from its current political challenges," the ministry said in a statement.

South Africa is the designated regional mediator in Zimbabwe.

MDC vice-president, Thokozani Khupe, who attended a pre-summit conference in Egypt over the weekend, confirmed South Africa’s delegation had lobbied AU colleagues to maintain the status quo after a caucus meeting on Friday — which would include recognition of Mugabe as president.

“Dlamini-Zuma said the SADC (Southern African Development Community) was about to strike a deal on the transition, but we as the MDC are unaware of any deal,” said Khupe.

“Ministers here are being told by South Africa not to meddle and to leave things as they are.”

Zimbabwe's presidential spokesman George Charamba said at the summit: “The South African foreign minister on Saturday — in a meeting with other foreign ministers — placed it in on record that she, on behalf of the SADC, can confirm that they are nearing a deal where we will have a power-sharing arrangement because the results of the March 29 election did not yield a clear winner.

“Based on that, the AU is supposed to trust the SADC to deliver a solution to Zimbabwe — that automatically closes the platform for other Africa leaders to express their positions on Zimbabwe, because if a solution is imminent, who would want to disrupt that solution?”
JOIN THE DEBATE ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE NEWZIMBABWE.COM FORUMS
newsdesk@newzimbabwe.com