ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe and opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai appeared close to a power- sharing deal last night, something which had seemed imporbably during the violence which marred elections earlier this year.
The pair are expected to meet today to discuss forming a possible unity government to end months of post-election turmoil, Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said.
It was claimed last night that Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had agreed that Tsvangirai wo
uld run the country as prime minister although his full powers were still being negotiated. Mugabe, meanwhile, would retain his position as president but may retain power over issues such as land reform and the security forces.
A Zanu-PF official said: "There could be a signing tomorrow, after the leaders have met to thrash out the remaining issues."
It is the clearest sign yet that the parties could be close to a deal after a disputed vote in March. Charamba said Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a breakaway Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction, would also participate in the talks.
Charamba said the meeting would include discussion of the structure of a possible unity government between the political rivals.
South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday to mediate between the ruling party and the opposition amid growing optimism over an agreement.
Reports from Harare have said Mugabe and Tsvangirai could secure a deal today. Any agreement would require a green light from security and military chiefs, powerful figures with wide sway over Mugabe who want to make sure they are not vulnerable to international prosecution when the political dust settles.
Although no details of the power-sharing talks have been disclosed, several analysts believe Mugabe is only ready to surrender some executive powers and will try to retain control of crucial state organs.
The opposition says only Tsvangirai can lead a new government because he won the first round of the presidential vote in March. He then pulled out of a June run-off because of violence he says killed 122 of his supporters.
Should an agreement be reached, it could take at least two weeks to convene parliament and push through expected constitutional changes to create new government posts and implement other aspects of the deal.
The two sides are under heavy pressure to reach a deal which could end a protracted crisis in Zimbabwe that has wrecked its once prosperous economy and led to an exodus of millions of refugees to neighbouring countries. Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate, officially estimated at 2.2 million per cent, as well as chronic food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.
Charamba said earlier that talks between the ruling ZANU-PF and the MDC – which began more than two weeks ago – had reached a milestone, but he declined to comment on whether a power-sharing deal was imminent.
Mugabe, aged 84 and in power since 1980, welcomed Mbeki at the airport yesterday and they drove off together to a Harare hotel, officials said.
It is still not clear if Mbeki will meet with Mugabe and Tsvangirai individually or hold three-way discussions.
Helping to secure a settlement before he hosts a summit of regional leaders in South Africa next Saturday could be a political coup for Mbeki.
Mbeki has come under intense criticism at home and abroad for not taking a tough line with Mugabe, a policy he argues would only backfire and deepen tensions.
Observers say an agreement would not turn around the ruined economy unless western powers threw massive financial backing behind it and the powerful "securocrats" supporting Mugabe were also on board.
Political analyst Eldred Masunungure said: "I think quite a number of western countries will want time to assess and review the outcome before committing themselves, and will not simply listen to ZANU-PF or the MDC's versions of events."
"If they come on board and give the process a chance, that will be good for the economy, but if they don't, Zimbabwe will still face problems internationally," said Masunungure, a political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe.
Key Western powers, led by Britain and the United States former colonial master Britain, have frozen financial aid and imposed sanctions on Mugabe's closest allies because of alleged human rights abuses and vote-rigging. Analysts say assistance from these countries, and from the IMF and World Bank, is crucial to reversing years of economic decline in a country battling with the world's highest inflation of over 2.2 million percent, a crumbling infrastructure, massive unemployment and food shortages.
Mugabe blames the economic meltdown – which has forced a quarter of Zimbabwe's 13 million people abroad and left the rest struggling with chronic shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency – on opponents trying to oust his government.
