Mugabe urged to form government

Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party has called on President Robert Mugabe to form a new government quickly, despite protests by opposition leaders.

Zanu-PF urged Mr Mugabe to follow the recommendation of the regional group Sadc, which said on Sunday that rival parties should share a key ministry.

The opposition wants to control the home ministry, including the police.

Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC have been disagreeing over the make-up of a power-sharing government.

The two parties signed an agreement in September that was intended to end Zimbabwe's ongoing political crisis.

Disagreements

Under the terms of the deal Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was supposed to be named prime minister, with Robert Mugabe remaining as president.

But the two parties have been unable to agree about the distribution of key ministries, and analysts say the deal is close to collapse.

The latest blow to the deal came on Sunday, with the recommendation by the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) that the home ministry should be shared.

Mr Tsvangirai rejected the proposal.

Mr Mugabe was re-elected as Zimbabwe's president in June, after Mr Tsvangirai withdrew from the second round of voting citing violence.

Zimbabwe is suffering from severe food shortages and rampant inflation, and the MDC leader has warned that a million Zimbabweans could starve to death in a year if the political deadlock continues.

Source: BBC