JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Zimbabwe’s opposition chief would accept the prime minister’s post and concede the presidency — and command of the military — to Robert Mugabe to settle a political crisis in his country, The Associated Press learned Saturday.
Morgan Tsvangirai outlined his proposal for resolving the contentious issue of who would lead a unity government in Zimbabwe in a speech Friday to regional Cabinet ministers gathered for the Southern African Development Community summit. The AP obtained a copy of the speech Saturday, the day the summit opened.
Tsvangirai’s proposal, which he said his Movement for Democratic Change presented during the deadlocked negotiations with Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, would mean a major curbing of the powers Mugabe has wielded since the country gained independence in 1980.
It also would leave Tsvangirai working closely with a leader he has reviled as a brutal dictator.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been mediating Zimbabwe’s power-sharing talks, spent much of the past week in Zimbabwe trying to push Mugabe and Tsvangirai to strike a deal. The question of Mugabe’s role has been a major sticking point.
In his speech Friday, Tsvangirai said the two sides remain unable to agree on how powers would be divided between him and Mugabe.
