Opposition party agrees to form Zimbabwe unity government
Morgan Tsvangirai's party to enter partnership with Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF
Matthew Weaver and agencies .. 30 January 2009 14.53 GMT
Morgan Tsvangirai leaving talks with Robert Mugabe and regional leaders in Harare Photograph: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has agreed to form a unity government with Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF, its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said today.
The agreement – which has yet to backed by western governments – is being seen as a risky attempt to find a political solution to the country's mounting humanitarian and economic crisis.
Earlier this week, the MDC rejected a recommendation from regional leaders that a power-sharing deal agreed in September should be revived.
But the MDC is said to have put aside its objections in order to avoid the alternative of Mugabe forming a government on his own.
"We met and we have decided to abide [by the regional leaders' resolution]," Tsvangirai told reporters after a party meeting today.
"We are committed to joining the government of national unity, and hope that [Zanu-PF] are going to treat us as equal partners."
The MDC had refused to share power with Mugabe until he agreed to allow it to hold important cabinet posts.
The party also wanted attacks on opposition supporters to stop before it entered any unity government.
The Zanu-PF party and the leaders of neighbouring countries including South Africa have said the opposition should enter the government and then resolve outstanding issues.
On Tuesday, a summit of the Southern African Development Community called for Zimbabwe to swear-in Tsvangirai as the prime minister on 11 February.
Mugabe will remain as the Zimbabwean president under the terms of the deal.
Tsvangirai accepted the proposal despite calls from some of his allies to reject it.
Mugabe has been under pressure from senior figures in the military and government who do not want to give up power and prestige to the opposition.
Mike Davies, an Africa analyst at the Eurasia thinktank, told Reuters: "The agreement still leaves significant executive power within Zanu-PF and under Mugabe's control.
"The fact that it is not supported by western governments will make it quite difficult for it to represent the advance it was initially hoped to represent."
The Zimbabwean commentator John Makumbe told the agency the move was "a huge gamble, particularly if Mugabe doesn't deliver on the other issues that the MDC has been demanding".
He said it was "a test for the MDC which will have a big bearing on its future".
Meanwhile, new UN figures revealed that there are 60,000 known cases of cholera in Zimbabwe. The disease has killed 3,161 people since August.
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