Zimbabwe begins checks of presidential votes

Officials began verifying the results from Zimbabwe's March 29 presidential poll yesterday, bringing a step closer the release of the long delayed vote count, the electoral commission said.

Senior government sources say opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has beaten President Robert Mugabe but not by the outright majority to avoid a run-off ballot with the veteran leader, who has held power for 28 years.

The month-long delay to the results has raised fears of bloodshed and Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change has accused Mr Mugabe of prolonging the wait to rig the outcome.

The checks to the results are designed to ensure all candidates are happy with the electoral commission's figures. Representatives of Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe were on hand as the checking began in Harare's International Conference Centre.

"This process can take a day, a week, even two weeks. It depends on whether we agree on and can tally our figures," said Chris Mbanga, Mr Tsvangirai's representative at the vote check.

Mr Tsvangirai has spent weeks outside Zimbabwe in a bid to raise foreign pressure on Mr Mugabe to concede the election in a country suffering economic collapse. He said in an interview broadcast yesterday that he would return after verification of the results.

"Once that is done, then we know who has won the election and then I will make the necessary steps to go back," he said in an interview broadcast on French news channel France 24.

No result has been announced to the public yet, but senior government sources have told Reuters Mr Tsvangirai won 47 per cent of the vote against the President's 43 per cent. If confirmed, that would mean that a run-off is necessary.