Power-Sharing Deal in Zimbabwe Threatened As Opposition Leaders Arrested

By: Julie Narimatsu

Impunity Watch Managing Editor-Journal

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Negotiations between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), have been threatened, as Mugabe announced at the convening of Parliament that he would be forming his new Cabinet with or without the opposition.  Mugabe stated Tuesday that "The MDC does not want to come in apparently."  On its side, MDC  states that Mugabe has abandoned the negotiations and that any attempt to set up a Cabinet and government himself would fail. 

Mugabe faced heckling during his speech at the first parliamentary session since the elections.  The elections this year resulted in an opposition majority for the first time in history, with MDC taking one more seat than Mugabe's Zanu-PF.  Despite the divisions, power-sharing discussions run by South African President Thabo Mbeki are supposed to resume this week.  Mugabe told the parliament members that he expected a power-sharing deal to be completed, and the MDC has said it will continue to participate in the discussions.  MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, was quoted by Reuters as saying "We remain committed to a dialogue process that is going to produce an acceptabel outcome for all the players, an inclusive government."   

In the meantime, Zimbabwe police have arrested several MDC opposition leaders and MPs.  Two were arrested on Monday, with three more arrested on Tuesday.  MDC stated that it perceived the arrests as "a direct affront to the will of the people of Zimbabwe."  Police, however, insist that the arrests were related to violence up to and during the run-off elections on June 27th.  Mugabe expressed regret at the violence that resulted from the elections this year.  The MDC estimates that over 200 were killed and about 200,000 were displaced during this period.

For more information, please see:

CNN.com - Police seize opposition MPs in Zimbabwe - 27 August 2008

MSNBC.com - Mugabe says he will form new government - 27 August 2008

BBC - Mugabe 'to form government alone' - 27 August 2008