No progress yet in Zimbabwe talks

HARARE, Zimbabwe, July 16 (UPI) -- An apparent breakthrough in efforts to negotiate a power-sharing government in Zimbabwe fizzled Wednesday, officials said.

The Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition group, refused to sign a memorandum of understanding, The New Zimbabwean, an official government newspaper, said.

A South African newspaper, Business Day, reported that President Thabo Mbeki was ready to fly to Harare for the signing.

President Robert Mugabe won re-election in late June after the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, dropped out. Tsvangirai said that violence by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had made a fair election impossible.

Delia Robertson, a reporter for Voice of America, said that the MDC can still influence events.

"I think the leverage that they have is essentially that in order to be able to govern -- because the MDC won the most votes in parliament and almost a majority in the senate -- that the ruling party would need the MDC in order to proceed further," Robertson said. "And also because Mr. Mugabe is very anxious that sanctions are not increased against him and senior people in his party. And so, in order to prevent that from happening he needs some sort of agreement."