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Last Updated: Oct 28th, 2008 - 17:57:18 |
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have failed to break a deadlock on forming a unity government despite direct talks, the opposition MDC party said on Tuesday.
Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Tsvangirai and Mugabe met for about an hour but remained far apart after the veteran president suggested the MDC would be a junior government partner with minor ministries.
"He wants to grab all the resource ministries like finance, home affairs, information, justice and make the MDC a peripheral player. We will end up in but out of government," Chamisa said.
There was no immediate comment from Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.
Chamisa called for renewed mediation to break the stalemate.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki mediated an outline power sharing deal two weeks ago to end a long political crisis in Zimbabwe.
But Mbeki has since been ousted by his own ruling party. It is not clear whether he could remain as mediator for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or would be replaced by another official.
Chamisa also called for intervention from the African Union.
"We are trapped in this deadlock," he said.
Mugabe told supporters of his ZANU-PF party on Monday that he hoped a unity government would be formed by the end of this week, ending a two-week deadlock since the framework deal was signed on September 15.
The stalemate over cabinet posts has dashed Zimbabweans' hopes that the country could start to climb out of economic chaos marked by the world's highest rate of hyper-inflation.
MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said a constitutional amendment still had to be drafted to give legal effect to the power-sharing deal.
Tsvangirai, who is set to become prime minister under the deal, called on Saturday for the formation of a power-sharing government "in the next few days" to help end the crisis.
The framework government deal was supposed to end a political crisis caused by Mugabe's unopposed re-election in a presidential poll in June after Tsvangirai withdrew, citing systematic violence against his followers.
Mugabe will retain the presidency and chair the cabinet, while Tsvangirai heads a council of ministers supervising the cabinet.
Arthur Mutambara, leader of a small breakaway MDC faction, is set to be one of two deputy prime ministers.
The opposition will have a combined cabinet majority, with Tsvangirai's main MDC faction controlling 13 cabinet posts in the new government, Mugabe's ZANU-PF 15 and Mutambara's breakaway MDC faction three.
The MDC says it does not oppose Mugabe taking charge of the army but is against him keeping control of all key ministries, including home affairs -- in charge of the police -- finance, foreign affairs, justice, information and local government which oversees local councils.
In another sign of the depth of the economic crisis, the central bank introduced higher denomination banknotes on Monday to keep pace with the devaluation of the currency because of inflation of 11 million percent.
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