Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Still Deadlocked After Two Days Of Mediation
Tsvangirai told reporters at the end of the talks that the politicians will continue the talks on Thursday as they had failed to reach 
A second day of mediatedpower-sharing talks among the leaders of Zimbabwe's main political parties concluded Wednesday with some signs of progress towards resolving a deadlock over the composition of the cabinet for a proposed national unity government. Sources close to the negotiations at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare said mediator and former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the agreement signed one month ago to the day on Sept. 15, moderated talks among President Robert Mugabe, prime minister-in-waiting Morgan Tsvangirai, and deputy prime minister-designate Arthur Mutambara. Tsvangirai told reporters after the negotiating session that the talks would continue Thursday as the participants had failed to come to a compromise. He told journalists that the proceedings had been, in his words, "quitecircuitous." But Mr. Mugabe said the leaders had made progress and would finish Thursday. Tsvangirai's lead negotiator, Tendai Biti, also said a deal could fall into place on Thursday. Sources in Mr. Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party andthe Movement for Democratic Change said talks on Wednesday focused on control of the Finance and Home Affairs ministries. ZANU-PF had indicatedit wanted discussions to be limited to the Finance Ministry, but the MDC objected and Home Affairs was also put in the table, sources said. A senior ZANU-PF officialtold VOA the ZANU-PF politiburo was not willing to concede the Finance Ministry. But a compromise was mooted whereby the Finance Minister might come from the dominant Tsvangirai MDC formation, but would have a ZANU-PF deputy as well as one drawn from the Mutambara MDC grouping. A ZANU-PF minister would have two MDC deputies. Mute MDC, theminister would have a ZANU-PF deputy as well as one from the Mutambara MDCgrouping. If the minister comes from ZANU-PF, there would be deputies from bothMDC formations.