Unity talks among Zimbabwean opposition parties unravel
Negotiations on presenting a united front to unseat Robert Mugabe in elections next year, are foundering on power struggles, say officials involved in the talks
Harare/Johannesburg — Negotiations to unite Zimbabwe’s opposition against President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party before elections next year are foundering on disputes over who will be the alliance leader and guarantees of seats for smaller groups, according to five officials involved in the talks. Former vice-president Joice Mujuru and former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai are at loggerheads over who will lead the coalition, said the officials, who asked not to be identified because the talks have not been made public. Demands by a third opposition leader, Tendai Biti, for a guaranteed number of urban seats have been resisted by Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change has strong support in the southern African nation’s cities. The opposition divisions mirror discord in the ruling Zanu (PF), where supporters of Mugabe’s wife, Grace, and Deputy President Emmerson Mnangagwa are lobbying for their aspirant to succeed the president. While Mugabe, 93 and in power since 1980, is...
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