Zimbabwe’s main political rivals were in South Africa yesterday for a regional summit with negotiators expected to aim for a resolution to the country’s political crisis.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s attendance at the gathering of heads of state was controversial, with Botswana’s president snubbing the gathering after his government said it did not recognize the 84-year-old leader’s re-election.
Regional trade unions also planned protests and a group called the Zimbabwean Exile Forum said it was launching an urgent legal action at the Southern African Development Community tribunal in Windhoek to block Mugabe’s invitation.
PHOTO: AP
There was controversy even before the summit began, with main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s trip delayed on Thursday after authorities at Harare airport temporarily seized his passport.
He flew to South Africa on Friday, after his passport was returned.
The crisis that intensified following Mugabe’s re-election in a June run-off poll widely condemned as a sham was high on the summit’s agenda, and there were indications power-sharing talks between the rivals would resume.
The chief negotiator for Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, said: “Talks are going to resume on the sidelines of the SADC summit.”
Tsvangirai said he was “hopeful” talks would resume, but a spokesman provided few details.
“Any dialogue that happens will happen within the context of the summit,” said Nqobizitha Mlilo, spokesman for the main opposition.
Power-sharing talks were stalled when three days of negotiations adjourned on Tuesday after Tsvangirai said he needed more time to consider a deal agreed to by Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a smaller opposition faction.
Tsvangirai believes he has the right to the lion’s share of power since he finished ahead of Mugabe in the March first round of the presidential election.
ZANU-PF has insisted Mugabe must be recognized as president in any deal, as he won the June vote in which he was the only candidate after Tsvangirai boycotted it.
South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Friday talks between the rivals would push ahead “until we find a solution.”
“Of course there isn’t power-sharing right now, but the talks are still going on,” she told reporters. “Until we find a solution they will continue to go on because SADC doesn’t have the luxury of walking away from Zimbabwe.”
Tsvangirai boycotted the June presidential run-off after saying violence against his supporters had left dozens dead and thousands injured.
Mugabe defied international and regional calls to postpone the vote and pushed ahead with it anyway, handing himself a new term.
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