a result of deliberations on whether or not to participate in the elections.
“The issue of participation has really not been resolved yet,” a senior MDC official said on condition of anonymity.
Other sources within the party say there have been further deliberations following the “direction that we seem to be heading regarding the issue of talks with Zanu (PF) that appear to be dying slowly”.
The party, together with the MDC (Mutambara), have been on record saying they will only participate in the elections on conditions of minimum guarantees for a free and fair contest.
However, any slight hopes for that being achieved are fading by the day as Zanu (PF)’s strongman, President Robert Mugabe, continues to rule out prospects of his embattled regime capitulating to demands for constitutional and electoral reform.
The usual fawning solidarity at the expense of objective peer review characterized the recent Sadc meeting in Lusaka where S A President Thabo Mbeki reportedly claimed “progress” on his mediation efforts.
Sources within both the opposition and the ruling party say Mbeki’ claims are “far from reality” and further report that the two political sides “have more differences than commonalities on the dialogue issue”. – Itai Dzamara
Post published in: News