Election deal nears in Zim?

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Harare - Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party and main opposition are close to signing an agreement after concluding talks aimed at resolving the country's crises, state media reported on Sunday.

"The talks have been concluded and the respective parties are expected to sign an agreement any time from now," The Sunday Mail quoted an unnamed government source as saying.

"As part of the agreement, bills proposing changes to the Broadcasting Services Act and Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act have been gazetted following an agreement reached between the two parties on November 20."

South African President Thabo Mbeki was mandated by leaders of the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) in March to broker talks between the Zimbabwe African National African Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the MDC.

As part of the deal the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party reached an agreement with the government in September on the adoption of a bill which paves the way for joint presidential and legislative elections next year.

The MDC also wants amendments to the country's strict media and security laws which critics says have been invoked to stifle opposition to veteran President Robert Mugabe and emasculate a once-vibrant independent press.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of an economic crisis with annual inflation officially at nearly 8 000% while the majority of the population live below the poverty line.

In March, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and dozens of party officials were beaten up after the government deployed security forces to thwart a prayer rally, prompting SADC to initiate dialoge between the political rivals.

Two weeks ago, Tsvangirai dismissed the talks with the ruling party as "paper discussions" saying Zanu-PF was "not sincere" in its commitment to concessions made during the talks.

Representatives of the two parties could not be reached for comment.

- SAPA