200810172176 | Zimbabwe talks still in trouble again

Zimbabwe talks still in trouble again

Harare - Negotiations on forming a unity government in Zimbabwe are deadlocked, but could continue into a fourth day, an opposition spokesman said on Thursday. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai spent nearly eight hours in negotiations that have dragged on for three days, in a last-ditch bid to save a power-sharing deal signed a month ago.

"We have reached a deadlock over key ministries. We have refered the matter to the facilitator to find a creative way of unlocking the deadlock," said Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

"We are hoping tomorrow the process to try and find a solution on the outstanding issues will continue," he said.

"What we seek to achieve is the equitable distribution of key ministries," he said. "There has been some movement, but not enough to seal the deal."

The mediator, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, could lead a fourth day of talks between the leaders on Friday, Chamisa added.

Mbeki brokered the deal agreed last month that called for 84-year-old Mugabe to remain president while Tsvangirai takes the new post of prime minister.

But Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of the deal after Mugabe announced last weekend that he would award his own party the most important Cabinet posts in the proposed unity government.