Zimbabwe

Agreement on amendment to allow power-sharing government

Article published on the 2008-11-28 Latest update 2008-11-28 18:14 TU

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe has put pressure on Zimbabwe to form a government
(Photo: Reuters)

Zimbabwe’s political rivals have agreed on a draft constitutional amendment to allow them to form a power-sharing government. The oppsition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) announced that it had reached an “understanding” with President Robert Mugabe after negotiators from both sides met in South Africa with mediator Thabo Mbeki. The ammendment would set out powers of the new prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the MDC. However, the agreement does not mean a unity government is forthcoming, as it still has to be debated by parliament and passed through both houses.

“It’s too early to judge, it’s too close to call,” John Makumbe, political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe, told RFI. He said many issues need to be cleared up, including the allocation of secretaries of various ministries, the appointment of ten provincial governors and some 30 diplomatic posts.

While the agreement marks the beginning of a process, it still has to pass through parliament.

“Neither ZANU-PF nor the MDC commands a two thirds majority in the House of Assembly,” said Makumbe. “Neither MDC nor ZANU-PF commands a majority in the senate. So there will have to be agreement on practically every clause for the deal to pass through the lower house and then clear the senate.”

“Until it has passed through parliament, Robert Mugabe cannot appoint a cabinet. Neither can Morgan Tsvangirai become prime minister,” he continued.

The negotiations had stalled until now, with Tsvangirai on Wednesday calling on mediator Thabo Mbeki to step down because of a lack of headway.

Mbeki has been under pressure to negotiate an agreement, and regional leaders have been putting pressure on Zimbabwe to form a government.

South Africa's president Kgalema Motlanthe has withheld millions of dollars in aid until a new government is in place, and Botswana Wednesday has urged the international community to cut off Mugabe.

Makumbe says the agreement is indicative of increased pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

 “There is growing uneasiness with the performance of the Southern African Development Communities performance in terms of mediating with Zimbabwe, and [South Africa and Botswana] are the first countries to be turning the corner,” he said.