MDC and ZANU-PF run even in early Zimbabwe results

Zimbabwe's opposition MDC and ruling ZANU-PF were running neck-and-neck, according to the first election results issued by the Electoral Commission on Monday.

The commission started announcing the results from Saturday's election shortly before 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) after a long delay prompted the opposition to accuse President Robert Mugabe of trying to rig the vote to stay in power. The first six parliamentary constituencies were evenly split between Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the commission.

Riot police appeared on the streets of Zimbabwe's capital overnight and the state-run Herald newspaper accused the MDC of "preparing its supporters to engage in violence by pre-empting results, claiming they had won". Mugabe, 84, faced the biggest test of his 28-year-rule in the election because of Zimbabwe's economic collapse and a two-pronged opposition attack that put him under unprecedented political pressure.

He is being challenged by veteran rival Tsvangirai and former finance minister and ruling ZANU-PF party official Simba Makoni. Both accuse the former guerrilla leader of wrecking a once prosperous economy and reducing the population to misery. Although the odds seem stacked against Mugabe, analysts believe his iron grip on the country and backing from the armed forces could enable him to declare victory.

The commission began issuing the results nearly 36 hours after polls closed. Results in past votes have started emerging soon afterwards. Mugabe's government warned the opposition it would regard victory claims as a coup attempt. The president, in power since independence from Britain, accuses the West of sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy and rejects vote-rigging allegations.

Zimbabwe is suffering from the world's highest inflation rate of more than 100,000 percent, chronic shortages of food and fuel, and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that has contributed to a steep decline in life expectancy.