HARARE, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwe opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has demanded that cabinet be co-chaired by
President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, state media the Herald
reported on Saturday.
The opposition has also demanded to open fresh
negotiations on all issues that had been discussed and agreed to, the Herald
said.
The Herald quoted a source as saying that the only
new but nonetheless absurd suggestion from the MDC-T was that cabinet to be
co-chaired by President Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The ruling ZANU-PF has dismissed the suggestion, the
state media quoted the source as saying.
The Zimbabwe inter-party talks, aimed at solving the
political crisis facing Zimbabwe, resumed on Friday in South Africa.
South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad on
Friday told the press in the administrative capital of Pretoria that the talks
would finalize all outstanding matters.
"All the relevant players are here in South Africa at
the moment and I think the length of the discussion will be determined by what
progress they make," the deputy foreign minister said.
The Zimbabwe ruling and the opposition have not
worked out a power-sharing deal yet after weeks of talks which is mediated by
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is approved as a mediator by the South
African Development Community.
The resumption of talks came days after President
Mugabe said he would soon form a new government.
Mugabe said on Tuesday at the opening of Parliament
that "We shall soon be setting up a government."
"The MDC does not want to come in apparently," Mugabe
said
The president said he was going to appoint cabinet
ministers who can manage the business of the people.
"I need managers. I want workers -- people who take
people to work. I do not want people with own business. I want one business --
the people's business," the Herald quoted Mugabe as saying.
"Let's us be united. Let's not be destroyers of our
party. We have destroyed part of it. Now that we have survived. Let's ensure the
party is strengthened," Mugabe said.
The Herald on Friday also reported that the Zimbabwe
ruling ZANU-PF had said that there were no more talks between the parties
involved since there was a deal already on the table awaiting Tsvangirai's
approval.
ZANU-PF principle negotiator Cde Patrick Chinamasa
said on Thursday there was no need for more talks since there was a deal already
on the table that is waiting to be signed by parties involved in the talks.
Zimbabwean President and ruling ZANU-PF candidate
Mugabe won a landslide victory in the presidential run-off election on June 27.
The Zimbabwe election committee said official results
showed that Mugabe, 84, won 85.5 percent of the votes in the election against
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's 9.3 percent, defeating Tsvangirai by a
huge margin.
Zimbabwe held the presidential run-off as scheduled
despite opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the race.
Tsvangirai withdrew from the election citing various reasons, including
political violence.
Tsvangirai received 47.9 percent of the votes in the
first round of election held on March 29, followed by President Robert Mugabe's
43.2 percent.
An outright winner needs to obtain an absolute
majority of the votes, otherwise a run-off needs to be held, according to
Zimbabwe's law.
Zambian ruling MMD in six provinces endorse Banda as candidate for presidential by-election
LUSAKA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in six provinces out of all the nine have endorsed Acting President Rupiah Banda as candidate for the forth-coming presidential by-election, MMD co-founder member Mbita Chitala have told Zambia News and Information Services.
Provincial executive committees in Luapula, Northern, North Western and Copperbelt have unanymously endorsed the candidature of Banda in the November polls, he said. Full story
