Group denies report of accord

A spokesman for a Zimbabwean opposition splinter group denied a report that President Robert Mugabe and the leader of the group had reached a power-sharing agreement.

Shortly after the talks concluded, officials from Mugabe’s party and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the two sides had agreed on the plan.

The reported agreement would exclude MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who won the first round of presidential elections in March but boycotted the runoff.

Welshman Ncube, spokesman for the MDC splinter faction, denied that his leader, Arthur Mutambara, had signed an accord with Mugabe.

The officials from the ruling party and the main opposition movement led by Tsvangirai had said earlier that Mugabe and Mutambara endorsed the plan.