Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Talks Resume
By VOA News
15 October 2008
Zimbabwe's political leaders are holding a second day of talks in an effort to rescue last month's power-sharing agreement.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is again mediating the talks between President Robert Mugabe and main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the capital, Harare.
The participants have said little about what has been discussed. But Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper The Herald today quotes President Mugabe as saying that progress has been made.
Tsvangirai threatened to pull out of the power-sharing deal on Sunday after Mr. Mugabe unilaterally assigned control of key ministries - including defense, home affairs and foreign affairs - to his own ZANU-PF party.
The original power-sharing agreement was signed one month ago today.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday that President Mugabe overstepped the bounds of the agreement by claiming key ministries. He urged both sides to implement the original agreement.
Mr. Mbeki helped to broker the original deal, meant to end the crisis after Zimbabwe's disputed presidential elections.
The power-sharing deal calls for ZANU-PF to control 15 ministries, with the two factions of the MDC getting 16. Mr. Mugabe would remain as president, with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai becoming prime minister.
Zimbabwe has been without an official government since first-round presidential elections in March. Tsvangirai won the most votes in that poll, but pulled out of the June run-off to protest alleged state-sponsored violence against his supporters.
The sides are under pressure to reach a deal so Zimbabwe can start to recover from its economic crisis. The country's official inflation rate stands at 231 million percent.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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