Mugabe's power-sharing deal 'freezes out opposition leader'

ROBERT MUGABE, the Zimbabwean president, has signed a power-sharing deal with a breakaway opposition faction, sidelining leader Morgan Tsvangirai, it was claimed last night.

A senior official from the ruling Zanu-PF party claimed Mr Mugabe had made an agreement with Arthur Mutambara, who heads a faction of Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

However, there was no official confirmation and confusion surrounded the negotiations in Harare last night.

"No deal has been signed by us," said Welshman Ncube, the secretary-general of the group led by Mr Mutambara.

And Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, who is mediating in the power-sharing talks, told reporters the sides had agreed a deal, but he did not know if it had been signed.

Earlier, Mr Tsvangirai was reported to have left a hotel in the capital after four hours of talks without an agreement on how to divide power.

The Zanu-PF official said Mr Mugabe would form a unity government and convene parliament next week.

"We, and the MDC headed by Mr Mutambara, have signed the agreement. Tsvangirai did not sign the agreement because he is trying to renegotiate issues that we had already agreed on," he was quoted as saying. "We are proceeding, and (Mr Mugabe] is going to form a government of national unity, including members of the opposition."

The official also said that Mr Mugabe had not closed the door on more talks with Mr Tsvangirai, but the ruling party refused to be "held hostage".

The agreement could be a setback to efforts to end the post-election political crisis and may also damage efforts to end an economic catastrophe.

Mr Mutambara was a key player in the power-sharing talks and his small MDC faction's ten seats will give Mr Mugabe sway in parliament.

Tendai Biti, MDC's secretary-general, earlier insisted the talks would continue, but made it clear differences remained. "The talks have not collapsed. It's just a time out," he said.

Asked if there were issues they had failed to resolve, he replied: "There is nothing that cannot be overcome."

Talks began last month after Mr Mugabe's re-election, which was condemned around the world.

Mr Tsvangirai, who won the first presidential election in March pulled out of a run-off in June because of attacks on his supporters.

The talks followed a five-hour meeting on Monday and a marathon session on Sunday that lasted more than 13 hours.

However, a deal with only Mr Mutambara's faction could make it even harder to ease Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis and end western sanctions against the country.

John Makumbe, a Mugabe critic and veteran commentator, said last night: "Morgan Tsvangirai is the main opposition leader, and any agreement that does not include his party will not work for the country. It actually just complicates issues."

Mr Tsvangirai's absence in a new government is also likely to keep investors cautious over a country facing economic ruin, with the world's highest inflation of 2.2 million per cent, chronic food and fuel shortages, and an almost worthless currency.

It is also unlikely to bring an end to western sanctions targeting Mr Mugabe's government.

Western countries had demanded a big role for Mr Tsvangirai, on the grounds that he had won the first round of elections but pulled out of the run-off.

PROFILE

ARTHUR Mutambara, born in May 1966, is a former student leader who is recognised as one of Africa's most prominent scientists.

While at the University of Zimbabwe in the late 1980s, he led the student opposition to the ruling Zanu-PF.

After completing his doctorate at Oxford University he went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became professor at several other universities in the United States.

He is a former Rhodes scholar and robotics and mechatronics professor.

Mr Mutambara was arrested in June this year for criticising Robert Mugabe's handling of the March elections, in an article in a privately-owned weekly, the Standard.

The breakaway faction of the MDC which he now leads was formed in 2005 after a dispute over whether or not to participate in the March 2005 parliamentary election. He was elected its head in February 2006 – a move described by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a "nullity".