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Zimbabwe Civil Society Groups Take Stock Of Power-Sharing Deal


Members of Zimbabwe's National Constitutional Assembly met on Friday in Harare to review the power-sharing agreement signed by the country's major parties and concluded that the accord brings little real change to the political landscape.

The NCA said President Robert Mugabe will exercise considerably more power in the new government than incoming prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change, long the opposition party before its combined formations secured a majority in parliament in general elections in March of this year.

The NCA also took issue with Article 6 of the accord regarding a new constitution, saying that the section refers to a draft constitution compiled in 2007 by ZANU-PF and MDC officials in the town of Kariba, not to the "people-driven" version the NCA wants.

NCA spokesman Maddock Chivasa told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the organization will keep pressing for a people-driven constitution.

The 22 member organizations of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition also met on Friday and agreed a lot remains to be done on the political front despite the power-sharing accord.

Issues taken up by the group included the new constitution and the role of parliament.

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Spokesman Macdonald Lewanika told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that while civil society was not directly involved in the talks, there is a lot of work to be done rebuilding democracy.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...

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