Zimbabwean police said today they had arrested seven election officials for undercounting votes cast for President Robert Mugabe in the March 29 presidential poll.
"There are seven people who have been arrested in connection with irregularities in the presidential poll," police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said.
"We're still investigating, but we have established that there was deflation of figures in respect of one candidate ... the ZANU-PF presidential candidate (Mugabe)," Bvudzijena said.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's High Court said today it has jurisdiction to decide on an opposition bid to force the release of presidential election results, but delayed a ruling on that until tomorrow, an opposition lawyer said.
Opposition Movement for Democratic Change lawyer Alec Muchadehama told reporters the court would rule tomorrow on whether the case should be heard urgently. "I think ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) just wants to delay this whole thing," he said.
A lawyer for the ZEC, George Chikumbirike, confirmed a ruling would be made tomorrow. The ZEC is resisting the MDC's attempt to force release of the result.
No results have emerged from the presidential vote nine days ago and Mr Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF wants the electoral commission to delay announcing the outcome pending a recount.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition says Mr Mugabe wants the delay to help him find a way to cling to power despite his people's rejection of him, amid hyperinflation and economic collapse. It is asking the High Court to force their release.
Mr Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF wants the electoral commission to delay announcing the election outcome pending a recount.
The MDC says its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has already won and should be declared president, ending Mugabe's uninterrupted 28-year rule since independence from Britain.
After a hearing lasting almost four hours, High Court judge Tendai Uchena adjourned to consider an electoral commission argument that he did not have jurisdiction.
Mr Mugabe suffered his first election defeat when ZANU-PF lost control of parliament in the March 29th elections.
ZANU-PF and independent monitors' projections show Mr Tsvangirai has won the presidential election but will be forced into a runoff vote after failing to win an absolute majority.
ZANU-PF's strategy to stay in power includes legal challenges to some of the parliamentary results and the mobilisation of pro-government militias before any runoff.
The re-emergence of war veterans, who in recent years led a wave of violent occupations of white farms as part of a government land redistribution programme, increased fears Mugabe's supporters would try to intimidate opponents.
Responding to reports of fresh farm invasions by the war veterans, Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) chief executive Hendrick Olivier said police had dispersed groups of people "claiming to be war veterans ordering farmers to vacate their farms" in Masvingo province.
"We have also received similar reports from two farms in Centenary. Reports have also been made to the police and we hope they will act as swiftly as they did in Masvingo," he said.
Agricultural officials say a majority of Zimbabwe's 4,500 or so white commercial farmers have been forced off their properties since 2000 when Mugabe launched his land reforms.