World Jul. 11, 2008 - 04:33AM JST ( 1 )

PRETORIA —

Zimbabwe’s ruling party and opposition held talks in South Africa Thursday for the first time since Robert Mugabe’s one-man election, as an expected UN vote on fresh sanctions appeared to be delayed.

Negotiators for Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) held discussions in Pretoria, which were set to resume on Friday.

The talks ended at about 10 p.m. and the opposition laid down conditions for more substantive talks, an MDC official said.

“We have presented our conditions for negotiations at the meeting which will continue tomorrow morning. It is an ongoing process and we should arrive at something,” MDC spokesman in South Africa, Nqobizitha Mlilo, said after the meting.

These include an immediate halt to violence, the release of more than 1,500 political prisoners, the swearing in of MPs and an expanded mediation team to include an African Union permanent envoy, it said.

Mukoni Ratshitanga, spokesman for South African President Thabo Mbeki, earlier confirmed the talks were being held in Pretoria.

On the Zimbabwe government side, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Labor Minister Nicholas Goche had flown to South Africa for the discussions, according to a source close to ZANU-PF.

MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, confirmed in a statement that it would set pre-conditions for further negotiations at the Pretoria meeting.

“There is a meeting currently taking place in Pretoria at which the MDC is represented by secretary general, Tendai Biti, and deputy treasurer-general, Elton Mangoma…solely to present the conditions under which genuine negotiations can take place,” said the statement.

Biti, who faces treason charges, left Harare after a Zimbabwean court eased his bail conditions and released his passport.

Meanwhile, a Security Council vote on U.N. sanctions against Mugabe was delayed as many members preferred to give South African-mediated talks between the Harare government and the opposition a chance, its president said Thursday.

Vietnam’s ambassador to the U.N. Le Luong Minh, who chairs the council this month, said the United States, which drafted the sanctions resolution, had so far made no attempt to push for a vote Thursday.

The U.S. delegation had hoped to have a vote late Wednesday on the text, which would slap for an assets freeze and a travel ban on Mugabe and 13 of his cronies, as well as an arms embargo.

“There was a request to put to the vote that resolution yesterday. But the the request was canceled,” Minh said. “So far we have not received any request to schedule a vote on that yet.

He said Vietnam and several other council members believe “we should support the good offices efforts by regional countries and regional organizations.”

South Africa’s Mbeki has been seeking a negotiated solution to Zimbabwe’s crisis, though he has faced criticism over his quiet diplomacy approach. South African government officials—though not Mbeki himself—were involved in Thursday’s discussions, said Ratshitanga.

Tsvangirai finished ahead of Mugabe in the March 29 first round of the election, but officially fell short of an outright majority.

He pulled out of the June 27 run-off five days ahead of the poll, citing rising violence against his supporters that left dozens dead and thousands injured.

A number of African governments, including South Africa, have rejected the push for further sanctions, saying it will only worsen the situation in a country whose once model economy is in tatters, and have instead called for dialogue.

Wire reports