By Mike Saburi
GWERU, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leaderMorgan Tsvangirai said on Sunday his party would ratherwithdraw from power-sharing talks than sign an unsatisfactorydeal and challenged President Robert Mugabe to call a new poll.
"We are saying to him you can call another election underinternational supervision and let's see who is going to winthat race," he told a rally to celebrate his Movement forDemocratic Change's MDC) ninth anniversary.
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in a March 29 election but fellshort of enough votes to avoid a June run-off, which was won byMugabe unopposed after Tsvangirai pulled out, citing violenceand intimidation against his supporters.
"We would rather have no deal than a bad deal," Tsvangiraitold his supporters.
The post-election talks are deadlocked over how to shareexecutive power between old foes Mugabe and Tsvangirai, puttingoff any chance of rescuing Zimbabwe from its economic collapse.
Mugabe has said he would form a cabinet with or withoutTsvangirai.
The MDC leader told the rally in the city of Gweru incentral Zimbabwe that there would be no power sharing dealuntil Mugabe ceded more power to the opposition.
"The issue that we are facing here is that Mugabe mustaccept to surrender some of his powers for the power sharingarrangement to work. If that doesn't happen there is no deal,"he said. He was speaking in both English and the local Shonalanguage.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Ralph Boulton)
