Zimbabwe Declares National Health Emergency

Mugabe and his opponents have traded accusations over who is to blame for the political stalemate that has persisted while the economic and humanitarian crises worsen. Late Thursday, state television showed Mugabe at a meeting of his party in Harare accusing the main opposition party led by Morgan Tsvangirai of standing in the way of a power-sharing agreement. It was Mugabe's first public comment since returning to Zimbabwe Wednesday following a weeklong trip to Qatar for an international development meeting.

Women and children collect clean water from a UNICEF truck in Harare, Zimbabwe Wednesday, Dec. 3,...

Women and children collect clean water from a UNICEF truck in Harare, Zimbabwe Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. The United Nations is reporting that the death toll from the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has risen to 565, with 12,546 people infected. The government had been reporting 473 cholera deaths since August, and a total of 11,700 people infected as of Monday. .(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

(AP)

Mugabe also told his supporters to "get ready for fresh elections" in about two years — indicating he did not expect his current term to last a full five years. Mugabe claimed the presidency after a June run-off widely denounced as a sham.

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The proposed unity government, with Mugabe as president and Tsvangirai as prime minister, would likely govern for less than five years, and one of its tasks would be organizing new presidential elections.

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Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

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