Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper quotes Mr. Mugabe saying that he will "certainly" appoint a new cabinet if opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai does not commit to a deal today.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change said earlier this week that negotiations with the ruling ZANU-PF party are deadlocked. An MDC spokesman said ZANU-PF's proposed power-sharing deal would make Tsvangirai a prime minister but would not give him any real political power.
In a related development, the office of South African President Thabo Mbeki has denied a report that he will travel to Zimbabwe today. He has been mediating talks between ZANU-PF and the MDC.
The talks were prompted by international pressure to resolve the violent political crisis that evolved from Zimbabwe's contested presidential election in March.
Tsvangirai won more votes than Mr. Mugabe in the poll but failed to win a majority. Mr. Mugabe won a second round of voting in June after Tsvangirai boycotted the election to protest state-sponsored violence against his supporters.
Many Western countries and some of Zimbabwe's neighbors dismissed the run-off election as a sham and have refused to recognize Mr. Mugabe's government as legitimate.
Published with the permission of Voice of America
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Published by Mike Hitchen, Mike Hitchen Consulting
