According to the somewhat complex deal Tsvangirai will serve as Prime Minister where he will control the national police and chair a Council of Ministers; Mugabe, meanwhile, will head up the military and the presidential cabinet (which itself will be divided almost equally between Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and Tsvangirai's MDC). Other parts of the deal include promises to end violence between the two political parties, freedom for political parties to operate in the country and a return to freedom of the press.
Hopefully the two men can turn from feuding with each other to solving some of Zimbabwe's horrible problems. The economy has collapsed, inflation is now running at an unbelievable 11 million percent per year, and the country, which once was the breadbasket of Southern Africa, is now teetering on the brink of starvation. People in Zimbabwe are optimistic, but still wary that fighting between the two parties is actually over, or that Mugabe, who held onto power with an iron grip in recent years, is now ready to share.
International bodies are taking a wait and see approach for now. The European Union is waiting until October before making a decision on providing aid, while the International Monetary Fund is ready to begin talks with the new government on an aid package. International groups refused to provide aid to Zimbabwe unless Mugabe shared power with Tsvangirai.
(BBC Graphic)
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