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Harare: Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Saturday night that Robert Mugabe might be allowed to stay on as titular head of a transitional government.
In a major concession, Tsvangirai said it was "not inconceivable" that, with himself as executive prime minister, Mugabe could remain as a ceremonial president.
His Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party would share power with Mugabe's Zanu-PF party in such a government.
"It's being considered within our structures," said Tsvangirai, in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph - his first since Friday's election, which he decided to boycott.
"The broad principle is how can the two parties co-exist, for a short duration, through a transition that will allow us to make a new constitution and a fresh election.
"I don't think it's inconceivable for such an arrangement to include him, depending, of course, on the details of what is being proposed and what are the arrangements."
The move could open the way to talks between the two sides after Mugabe declares himself the victor in presidential run-off. Tsvangirai withdrew from the contest following a campaign of murder and violence against his supporters.
Despite the onslaught from Mugabe's thugs, and Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the election, some polling stations said more people had voted for him than for Mugabe. "I find that very humbling," Tsvangirai said.
Tsvangirai, 56, was speaking from the Dutch embassy in Harare's eastern suburbs, where he has been since announcing he was boycotting the poll, but said he would not go into exile.
Mugabe, he said, was "a man who in his imagination would like to die in office, like some of the nationalist leaders who were deputy to him.
Legacy
"We have always said he needs to occupy higher moral ground than what he has degenerated into, because he is the founding president of the republic and as the founding father of the nation he must behave as such. Unfortunately he has behaved in a manner which has undermined that legacy.
"The problem is that he is resisting transfer of power. He is not disputing the fact that March 29 produced a certain result which reflected the will of the people, but he cannot accept transfer of power himself, so that is the difficulty."
The opposition now hopes that international pressure will force Mugabe to make concessions. "The majority of the African states find the situation in Zimbabwe unacceptable," said Tsvangirai.
"I think there's a growing chorus about condemning what happened on Friday."
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