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Zim talks 'may be in jeopardy'
20/08/2008 14:24 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change said on Wednesday it had not consented to the reconvening of Parliament, claiming it could jeopardise talks to resolve the country's political crisis.
MDC secretary general Tendai Biti said such a decision needed to be made by consensus according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on July 21 in Harare with the ruling Zanu-PF party, which paved the way for talks on power-sharing.
"In the present case, the MDC has not consented to the convening of the Parliament," Biti said in a statement.
"Any decision to convene parliament will be a clear repudiation of the MOU, and an indication beyond reasonable doubt of Zanu-PF's unwillingness to continue to be part of the talks," he said.
"In short convening parliament decapitates the dialogue," he added.
Biti said the MDC remained "firmly committed" to the talks in order to end the suffering of Zimbabweans.
South African mediators said on Wednesday that they did not know when the talks, suspended on Tuesday last week, would resume.
A parliamentary clerk said on Wednesday in a statement that the parliament would convene on Monday for the first time since President Robert Mugabe lost his majority in the legislature in March elections.
The formation of a government Cabinet is expected to follow the reconvening of the parliament in accordance with the country's constitution.
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980 in March elections.
- AFP
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Zimbabwe Special Report
