BBC Online.
Thursday, 11 September 2008 20:46
Zimbabwe rivals agree unity deal
South African president Thabo Mbeki confirms the power sharing deal
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert
Mugabe have reached a deal to share power.
After mediating four days of talks in Harare, South African President
Thabo Mbeki said the deal would be signed and made public on Monday.
Mr Mbeki did not give any details about the agreement. Mr Tsvangirai
confirmed a deal has been struck but Mr Mugabe himself has not yet
commented.
Negotiations have faltered over how the two sides are to share power.
The government and MDC had earlier agreed that Mr Tsvangirai would be
PM and Mr Mugabe stay as president.
He said the exact composition of the new government was still being
worked out but refused to be drawn on details.
Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party, was first to announce the deal as the talks ended.
Later, Mr Mbeki told a news conference: "An agreement has been reached
about all the matters on the agenda of the negotiations."
The discussions are thought to have been deadlocked over how many
ministries each party should have in a unity government, and how much
power Mr Mugabe should retain.
Mr Mugabe won a controversial June presidential run-off election
unopposed after Mr Tsvangirai withdrew, claiming his sup****ters were
the brunt of a state-sponsored campaign of violence.
In the first presidential election in March, Mr Tsvangirai gained more
votes than Mr Mugabe, but official results say he did not pass the 50%
threshold for outright victory.
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