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Zimbabwe power-sharing talks fail | Zimbabwe power-sharing talks fail |
(40 minutes later) | |
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he has failed to agree on a new cabinet at power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe. | Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he has failed to agree on a new cabinet at power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe. |
After a fourth day of negotiations in the Harare, Mr Tsvangirai said he and Mr Mugabe had agreed to refer the dispute to Sadc and the African Union. | |
But the MDC leader insisted: "We are not walking away from this." | |
Earlier, Zanu-PF officials and the state-owned media accused Mr Tsvangirai of being intransigent during the talks. | |
The US meanwhile said it would consider further sanctions against Mr Mugabe and his government if the deal collapsed. | The US meanwhile said it would consider further sanctions against Mr Mugabe and his government if the deal collapsed. |
The Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, said she was not optimistic that talks aimed at breaking a deadlock on how key cabinet posts should be handed out would be successful. | |
'Wrong direction' | |
Speaking after four days of inconclusive negotiations mediated by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, Mr Tsvangirai said the parties had "failed to agree on the allocation of ministerial positions" in a new government of national unity. | |
We call upon the SADC and the AU (African Union) to use their collective wisdom to help unlock the deadlock Morgan TsvangiraiMovement for Democratic Change | |
"We believe that for an inclusive government to work, the principles of equitable sharing of power... should be embraced. It appears we are far apart on this principle," he told reporters. | |
The Movement for Democratic Change's leader then said both parties had agreed to call upon the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the African Union "to use their collective wisdom to help unlock the deadlock". | |
A three-nation Sadc security panel would meet on Monday to consider the situation, Mr Tsvangirai added. | |
Mr Mugabe said the talks had gone "very well in the wrong direction", and that Zanu-PF would make a statement on Saturday. | |
"We shall tell you in detail tomorrow and also tell you the way forward. We don't want to pre-empt what we are going to say," he added. | |
On Sunday, President Mugabe reportedly told the MDC he had allocated the main ministries, including defence, home, foreign affairs, and justice, to the Zanu-PF. | |
Mr Tsvangirai later told Mr Mbeki that 10 cabinet positions needed to be revisited at the negotiations, officials said. As well as finance, the MDC also insisted it should have home affairs - and control of the police - if Zanu-PF had defence. | |
The MDC has accused both the police and the military of taking part in violent attacks on its supporters ahead of the presidential run-off election in June. | |
Reports on Friday suggested that Mr Mugabe might have agreed to let the MDC take the key post of finance minister, but that he would not give it home affairs. | |
According to the original power-sharing deal agreed last month, 15 ministries are to be allocated to the Zanu-PF, 13 to the MDC, and three to a smaller MDC faction. |