Zimbabwe Opposition Calls for Mediation over Coalition

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has called for African mediation in talks towards the sharing of key cabinet ministries in a coalition government  with President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF, saying negotiations between the two sides have hit an intractable deadlock. In a statement released Tuesday, the MDC said the contention still surrounded all strategic ministries, dismissing ZANU-PF’s assertion that only the ministries of finance and home affairs were disputed. Several meetings between President Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai have failed to yield a solution, and the opposition party now wants the regional body SADC and the African Union to intervene. Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a power sharing deal on September 15, but the formation of a joint government has been delayed by the squabbles over portfolio balance. [PE]