By Nelson Banya
HARARE Aug 15 (Reuters) – South African President Jacob
Zuma on Wednesday urged Zimbabwe’s rival leaders to speed up
political reforms seen as critical to avoiding another violent
and disputed election, but President Robert Mugabe signalled he
would not be pushed into endorsing a new constitution already
accepted by his foes.
Speaking to journalists after a series of meetings with
Mugabe and his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Zuma
said there was some progress on a new constitution, but minor
hitches remained.
Local political analysts say Mugabe’s ZANU-PF, which was
forced to into a power-sharing government with Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) following a disputed poll
in 2008, is likely to stall agreement on a draft charter to
reverse proposals eroding sweeping presidential powers.
Zuma, who is mediating the Zimbabwe crisis, said he had
discussed various issues with Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Welshman
Ncube, leader of a small MDC wing.
“I think from what I have gathered, there has been some
movement forward, although there are some hitches here and
there, but they are not as major as they used to be,” he said,
adding that would report his findings to a summit of the
15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) in
Mozambique this weekend.
Zuma was in Harare on Wednesday to nudge the Zimbabwean
leaders to agree to a plan for elections that are expected in
the next year or two.
Tsvangirai said they primarily discussed progress on a draft
constitution recently presented to the rival parties after three
years of political bickering. He noted Mugabe’s party had yet to
endorse the proposed charter.
Asked if the final decision on the constitution will be made
by the leaders of the coalition parties, Tsvangirai, who accuses
Mugabe of rigging elections to retain power, said there was no
such provision in their power-sharing agreement.
Continued…
