By Martin Plaut
BBC Africa analyst
The full details of the deal hammered out on power-sharing in Zimbabwe have been made public, but the document leaves its readers with more questions than answers.
The agreement signed in Harare on Monday is far from clear.
It says that executive authority shall be shared between President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the cabinet.
The only guidance on how this will be done is the instruction that "in exercising this authority the President, Vice President Bush backs John McCain's bid for the White House ...
Ceasefire appears to be in effect in Georgia ... Presidents, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers must have regard to the principles and spirit underlying the formation of the Inclusive Government and act in a manner that promotes cohesion inside and outside government."
How responsibility will be divided between the cabinet and the council of ministers remains to be seen.
There is little to distinguish between them, and little to distinguish their functions.
It seems very much down to what Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai and their respective parties make of what they are allocated.
'Direction of travel'
Two other bodies have been established.
There is a Joint Monitoring and Implementation Mechanism, consisting of the political parties to sort out difficulties.
Diagram of Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal
There is also a National Economic Council, including business and farmers to help rebuild the economy.
While it remains unclear who is ultimately in charge, President Mugabe has retained control of the security forces, as he chairs the National Security Council.
Mr Tsvangirai, who says his supporters were brutalised by the security forces during the election campaign, does however gain a seat on the NSC, which includes Zimbabwe's military chiefs.
Cheryl Hendricks of South Africa's Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) says much of the detail is to be fleshed out later.
"This is an agreement that will have to be made to work in practice."
But she points to the role of South Africa, the African Union and the regional Southern African Development Community (Sadc), as guarantors.
If this deal fails, it will be up to these organisations to come to the rescue.
Perhaps the best that can be said of this agreement is that it is an indication of the direction of travel, rather than a final destination.
With goodwill it might work, without it, the crisis in Zimbabwe will only continue.
Which is why the European Union and the United States have decided to wait and see, before giving it their blessing.
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(BBC)
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