ZANU and MDC examine agenda for talks

Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary-general Welshman Ncube are scheduled to meet on Tuesday in Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo to discuss an agenda for interparty talks, news reports said.

Speaking from Bulawayo, MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi told IRIN that the development was "logical" coming after South African President Thabo Mbeki extracted a commitment from Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe last week to "move from informal to formal talks".

Nathan Shamuyarira, secretary for publicity and information of the ruling ZANU-PF, told IRIN that Chinamasa was "in the committee on the talks that meets regularly with MDC".

Formal inter-party dialogue, which has been championed by among others South Africa and the churches, is seen as key to beginning to resolve Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said at the weekend that the party's strategy had three phases. "One; how to unlock the logjam with Mugabe, two; what are the confidence building measures to normalise the environment in this country, and three; how to restore a democratic and legitimate government so we can join the family of nations," he told a press conference at the end of the MDC's national conference.

"We have submitted this agenda to the church leaders and to South Africa. ZANU is stalling because they think that coming to the table is equal to surrendering. We are not talking about surrender. We are talking about moving forward for Zimbabwe. All other issues are negotiable," Tsvangirai said.

The MDC has called for talks to agree on constitutional reforms before fresh elections can be held.

"Going into an election with skewed [election] laws will produce the same outcome [a controversial ZANU-PF victory]. The MDC believes that you can not have a comprehensive people driven constitution in this environment but you do need a constitutional environment that is conducive for free and fair elections," Tsvangirai said.

He threatened "mass action" in 2004 as only "national and international pressure" would persuade ZANU-PF towards negotiations.

However, according to Chris Maroleng, an analyst with South Africa's Institute for Strategic Studies, substantive talks are unlikely until Mugabe clarifies whether he intends to stand down before his term expires in 2008 - as he had suggested earlier this year - and who would be his successor.

"I think what is stopping the possibility of serious national dialogue between the two parties is the fact that there's division within ZANU-PF, and there's a power vacuum. There's a need, first of all, to resolve the leadership issue and the succession debate within ZANU-PF, before the party can come out with some sort of consensus to engage in any meaningful talks with the MDC," Maroleng told IRIN recently.