By Mike Saburi
GWERU, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leaderMorgan Tsvangirai said on Sunday his party would rather quitpower-sharing talks than sign an unsatisfactory deal andchallenged President Robert Mugabe to call a new election.
"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 the ninth anniversaryof his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
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," Tsvangiraisaid.
The post-election talks are deadlocked over how to shareexecutive power between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, putting off anychance of rescuing Zimbabwe from its economic collapse.
Mugabe has said he will form a cabinet with or withoutTsvangirai.
MEDIATION STRUGGLE
South African President Thabo Mbeki, mandated by regionalcountries to mediate in the Zimbabwe talks, was expected toarrive in Harare on Monday. He has come under repeated fire fornot being tough enough with Mugabe.
Other southern African leaders have taken a hard lineagainst Mugabe. But he has refused to budge, and the MDC hasmade it clear it has little faith in Mbeki as a mediator.
"President Mbeki is coming, but don't worry about him. Heis not the one who is going to sign the agreement. He is goingto have to persuade me to shift my position," Tsvangirai toldthe rally in the city of Gweru in central Zimbabwe.
"But don't worry. One thing I will not do is to sell youout."
Zimbabweans hoped the election would usher in a new era ofeconomic prosperity. Instead, there is no relief in sight fromthe world's highest annual inflation rate of over 11 millionpercent and severe shortages of basic goods.
The election run-off was condemned around the world anddrew toughened sanctions from Western countries whose supportis vital for reviving Zimbabwe's ruined economy.
A smaller, breakaway faction of the MDC, led by ArthurMutambara, is the third party in negotiations aimed at forminga national unity government.
Tsvangirai told the rally an agreement was out of thequestion unless Mugabe, in power since independence fromBritain in 1980, was prepared to compromise.
"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, speaking in both English and the local Shona language.
Tsvangirai has stood his ground, despite mounting pressurefor an end to a political crisis that has driven millions ofZimbabweans over the country's borders, straining regionaleconomies.
"We have time on our side. And we have people behind us,"he said.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Robert Hart)
