Zimbabwe’s fragile power-sharing pact remained in limbo Tuesday after southern African leaders said the nation’s rival parties had come to an agreement, but the main opposition party denied that.
Leaders of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community met Monday in Pretoria, South Africa, in what was depicted as a last- ditch effort to salvage a deal between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the opposition. After 14 hours of negotiations that ended at dawn, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe told reporters that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai would be sworn in as prime minister Feb. 11.
But Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change, swiftly issued a statement indicating that this was not the case. While a communique issued by SADC addressed some of the opposition party’s demands — including, for example, a call for the parties to discuss the assignment of provincial governors — the MDC said it had not gone far enough.
