ZIMBABWE:ZIMBABWE'S MAIN opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, yesterday called on world leaders "to take strong action" against president Robert Mugabe, saying a failure to act would call into question their democratic values.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had still not released the official results of the March 29th presidential election yesterday.
The official body has most recently blamed technical difficulties for the delays. However, it has been alleged that the ruling regime is forcing it to withhold the result so that it can plan a way forward for Mr Mugabe, who it would appear failed to achieve an absolute majority.
Mr Mugabe (84) has virtually conceded that he did not win, and is already campaigning through the state media for an expected run-off using threats against his enemies and racial incitement.
A candidate must secure 50 per cent plus one vote to get an absolute majority. Otherwise, a second-round run-off between the two leading contenders within three weeks of the first polling day is the legal alternative.
However, since early last week the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has insisted that tallies they carried out at polling booths show the party's leader, Mr Tsvangirai (56), has won the poll outright and should be the country's next president.
In an effort to break the deadlock, the MDC lodged an action with the high court last Saturday, asking it to force the electoral commission to release the official result. Although he delayed his decision until today, Justice Tendai Uchena yesterday dismissed a claim by the electoral commission that the courts could not legally hear the case. "The judge dismissed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's application that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter," opposition lawyer Alec Muchadehama said outside Harare's high court.
As tensions continued to rise over the electoral impasse, Mr Tsvangirai flew to South Africa yesterday to holding meetings with "important people", according to MDC party secretary general Tendai Biti.
Earlier in the day, Mr Tsvangirai's frustration with the international community over its failure to act became apparent. "How can global leaders espouse the values of democracy, yet when they are being challenged fail to open their mouths?" he wrote in yesterday's Guardiannewspaper.
Meanwhile, lawyers for an award-winning New York Timesjournalist and a British national held in a Zimbabwe jail have complained that the country's legal system is being used to ensure that their clients, who have been in jail for six days, stay behind bars. New York Timescorrespondent Barry Bearak (58) and an Englishman (45) were picked up at a Harare guesthouse last Thursday and later charged with reporting on Zimbabwe's elections without accreditation. Bearak's lawyer said yesterday that his client had fallen while in police custody and had sustained serious injuries.