Zimbabwe power sharing deal said close

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and a key opposition party were close to a deal Thursday to create a coalition government, officials from both sides said.

Talks led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, could conclude with an agreement on sharing 31 cabinet seats among Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front and two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change, the officials said.

Mugabe said the talks appeared near conclusion.

The MDC's chief negotiator told the independent Zimbabwean newspaper, "History is being made, mountains are being moved and things are happening."

Arthur Mutambara, who heads a breakaway MDC faction, said, "We are very close (to a deal)."

The 9-year-old MDC split in 2005, with one faction headed by opposition figure Morgan Tsvangirai and the other by Mutambara. The two factions won a combined majority in the March parliamentary election.

The factions and Mugabe's ruling ruling ZANU-PF agreed to form a coalition in September that would extend Mugabe's 28-year presidency.

Under its terms, Mugabe would be recognized by both MDC factions as president, Tsvangirai would become prime minister and Mutambara would become deputy prime minister.

The MDC would control the national police force and ZANU-PF would command the armed forces.