Mugabe's party, MDC in talks over poll outcome: sources (Roundup)

Apr 1, 2008, 16:23 GMT

A file picture dated 27 March 2008 shows Zimbabwe\'s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, addresses his supporters at a rally in Chitungwiza, 30km south of Harare, Zimbabwe. Advisers of President Robert Mugabe are in talks on 01 April 2008 with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai amid signs that Mugabe may be resigning. EPA/STR

Harare/Johannesburg - Three days after Zimbabweans went to the polls to vote on President Robert Mugabe's 28-year rule, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was in talks with Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party, a reliable source close to the MDC said.

The source confirmed to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the two parties were engaged in talks, but would not be drawn on the content.

Earlier Britain's Guardian newspaper also quoted an unnamed senior source within the MDC, who is known to dpa, as saying the party was also in touch with senior members of the military.

News of the talks fuelled speculation that the country's election commission, which has been releasing results from Saturday's elections at a snail's pace was trying to buy time until some sort of agreement was struck.

Further stoking the speculation of behind-the-scenes developments was the repeated scheduling and later cancelling of press conference by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare throughout the day.

Mugabe's rule looks increasingly tenuous after an independent estimate showed him coming in second behind Tsvangirai.

The estimate, produced by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, shows Tsvangirai taking 49.2 per cent of the vote against 41.8 per cent for Mugabe and 8.2 per cent for a third candidate, former finance minister Simba Makoni, who ran as an independent.

If reliable, it could mean that Tsvangirai and Mugabe would enter a runoff vote, as provided for in the constitution if neither candidate takes more than 50 per cent of the vote.

It was not clear whether either party would entertain a runoff. Mugabe ruled it out directly after the election saying it would 'not be necessary.' He has also vowed to respect the wishes of Zimbabweans in the polls.

The trickle of official results from the parliamentary elections that were held concomitantly with presidential and local elections Saturday showed the MDC enjoying a slight lead over Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

With over half the 210 seats in the House of Assembly (lower house of parliament) counted, Zanu-PF had 64 seats against 67 for the MDC. Of the MDC vote 62 went to Tsvangirai's larger faction of the divided party and 5 for a smaller, breakaway MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said.

The MDC moved early to claim victory in the polls, saying that unofficial results posted at some of the around 9,000 polling stations nationwide gave Tsvangirai and the party a 60 per cent victory.

As the ZEC dragged its heels on announcing the results, which have been posted at polling stations nationwide since Sunday, international pressure grew on the body to end speculation that it was rigging the result by hurrying the announcement of the final result.

The United States, European Union, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands all called for the results to be released without delay.

'The opportunities for mischief increase the longer the delay is between the elections and the announcement of the vote,' said US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey.

In neighbouring South Africa, home to between 1 and 3 million refugees from Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, a spokesman for the trade union confederation COSATU express concern that the 'clear evidence' of a strong MDC showing was not reflected in the official results so far.

Saturday's vote, which got a qualified thumbs-up from two African observer missions despite widespread irregularities, was seen mainly as a vote on the economic chaos wrought by Mugabe's populist policies, which have resulted in 100,000-per-cent inflation and widespread food, fuel and drug shortages.

Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.