Zimbabwe strike flops

An opposition general strike to demand the release of Zimbabwe's delayed election result flopped yesterday and the ruling party in South Africa said the situation in the neighbouring country was "dire".

Fears of a fierce government crackdown and the desperate need of many Zimbabweans to make enough money to subsist in the face of a collapsing economy undermined the strike.

It was the second setback in two days for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) after a High Court judge on Monday refused to order the release of results from the March 29 poll.

But calls to announce the outcome won powerful backing from South Africa's ruling African National Congress, which said there should be no further delay.

Confirming an increasing breach over Zimbabwe between the ANC and South African President Thabo Mbeki, a statement by the party's executive National Working Committee said the situation was "dire, with negative consequences" for all of southern Africa.

Mr Mbeki, who led unsuccessful mediation by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last year, said before a summit of the group last weekend that there was no post-election crisis in Zimbabwe.

The ANC committee said Mr Mbeki "needs to observe a neutral position" in his role as mediator.

Jacob Zuma toppled Mr Mbeki as head of the ANC last December and has publicly called for the results to be released.

In Zimbabwe, the strike call went unanswered in many places, including the capital Harare.

"We employ ourselves here, any day's work we lose hits our pockets," said Patrick Daka, who runs a brick-making venture along with four others in a southern industrial area of Harare.

Asked about the failure of many workers to observe the call, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said: "That is understandable considering the ruthlessness of the regime".

The MDC has declared victory in the presidential election and demanded that President Robert Mugabe step down to make way for its leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF lost control of Parliament for the first time in a parallel vote on March 29, and the MDC accuses the ruling party of delaying the results to buy time to organise a violent response to its biggest setback since coming to power in 1980.

The ANC said it would enter its own dialogue with both Zanu-PF and MDC.

Referring to Zanu-PF statements that a Mugabe-Tsvangirai runoff would be necessary, it said: "To hold a runoff vote when the election results are not known would be undemocratic and unprecedented".

Banks, shops and offices in central Harare were open as many workers ignored the call for an indefinite stoppage.

Soldiers and police fanned out across Zimbabwe early in the day in anticipation of a possible strike. Army trucks, some equipped with water cannon, moved through opposition strongholds around the capital as police set up checkpoints. Security eased significantly later.

The threat of a tough security response has undermined previous calls for protests.

Police beat dozens of MDC members and supporters, including Mr Tsvangirai, during an aborted 2007 anti-government protest. A general strike last year to protest against low wages and living conditions also collapsed.

"We are open here because we don't want to attract attention to ourselves. Some workers have come and others have not," said one shop floor supervisor at a tobacco processing firm, who declined to be named.