SADC says Zimbabwean parliament may have to be convened (Extra)

Aug 17, 2008, 19:05 GMT

Johannesburg - The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said Sunday it might be necessary to reconvene Zimbabwe's parliament despite continuing negotiations between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The call was contained in a communique issued after a meeting of the SADC organ on politics, defence and security on Zimbabwe.

That meeting took place after the close of a SADC summit of heads of state and government in Johannesburg earlier Sunday.

'While negotiations (on a government of national unity) are continuing it may be necessary to convene parliament to give effect to the will of the people as expressed in the parliamentary elections held on March 29, 2008,' the communique said.

Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has been pushing for parliament to be reconvened since opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai backed away from a power-sharing agreement that would have seen Mugabe retain executive powers.

The MDC took more votes than Zanu-PF in the March 29 elections but Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a splinter faction of the MDC that holds the balance of power between the two parties in parliament, has said he would consider working with either parties.

The main summit of the 15-nation SADC grouping had failed to resolve a disagreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai on how they would share power in a unity government, if, as has been proposed, Tsvangirai is made prime minister.