The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Harare

Zimbabwe's parliament resumes work on Tuesday for a session that could test a power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party goes into the new parliament stripped of a majority for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980 and needing to work with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to run an effective government.

MDC parliamentarians jeered and booed Mugabe when he officially opened parliament on August 26 after an election in March which the opposition says he rigged to retain power.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is in Harare to hold talks to try to rescue the power-sharing deal he brokered, which analysts say is Zimbabwe's best hope for ending an economic crisis.

The pact, which Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed last month, is in danger of collapse because of disagreements over the cabinet. Analysts say the convening of parliament may open a public quarrel on the issue.

"It's going to be interesting to see whether the two parties are able to engage in a constructive way or whether there are some who want to slug it out," said Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of political pressure group National Constitutional Assembly.