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Mugabe, Tsvangirai deny deal on presidency

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BOTH Zimbabwe`s Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the Government of Robert Mugabe have strongly denied foreign media speculation a deal had been reached to arrange the departure of the veteran president after 28 years of uninterrupted power.

"There is no discussion and this is just a speculative story," Mr Tsvangirai told a news conference today when asked about reports his aides and ruling ZANU-PF party officials had negotiated a deal.

Brushing aside projections showing he would fail to win an absolute majority and would be forced into a runoff against Mr Mugabe, Mr Tsvangirai said: "Today we face a new challenge, that of governance".

Speculation that Mr Mugabe would stand down voluntarily rather than face a runoff began after ZANU-PF sources and independent monitors said Mr Tsvangirai had won, but he would fall just short of the 51 per cent needed for outright victory.

Mr Mugabe`s spokesman George Charamba described reports of an exit deal as "nonsense" and dismissed rumours the president would address the nation on television later today.

Mr Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, but faced an unprecedented challenge in Saturday`s elections due to a two-pronged opposition attack and the economic collapse of his once prosperous country, which has reduced much of the population to misery.

A senior Western diplomat in Harare said the international community was discussing ideas to try to persuade Mr Mugabe to step down, "but I don`t think there is anything firm on the table".

There are fears both inside and outside Zimbabwe that the three-week hiatus before a runoff vote would spark serious violence between security forces and militia loyal to Mr Mugabe on one side and MDC supporters on the other.

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said the election stand-off in Zimbabwe could turn into violence, but hoped the country would avoid the bloodshed recently witnessed in Kenya after disputed elections.

"Having just gone through this situation in Kenya, I hope there is not going to be a repeat in Zimbabwe, but given the nature of this you cannot exclude that there will be some violence," Dr Annan, who brokered an end to the crisis in Kenya, told journalists in Lisbon.

The United States said it was time for Zimbabwe`s electoral commission to issue results.

"It`s clear the people of Zimbabwe have voted for change," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

No presidential results have been announced three days after polls closed, fuelling suspicions that Mr Mugabe was trying to avoid defeat by rigging.

But two ZANU-PF party sources said today its projections showed Mr Tsvangirai getting 48.3 per cent against Mr Mugabe`s 43 per cent, with former finance minister Simba Makoni taking eight per cent.

Latest results from the parliamentary election showed ZANU-PF with two more seats than the mainstream MDC, and five seats going to a breakaway faction of the opposition. Some 161 seats have now been announced from a total of 210.

Mr Tsvangirai, like many foreign governments, urged the electoral commission to speed up result announcements. He said the MDC would announce its own tally of the final result tomorrow.

The opposition and international observers said Mr Mugabe rigged the last presidential election in 2002.

But some analysts say the groundswell of discontent over an economy in freefall is too great for him to fix the result this time without risking major unrest.

Zimbabweans are suffering the world`s highest inflation of more than 100,000 per cent, food and fuel shortages, and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that has contributed to a steep drop in life expectancy.

The opposition is expected to unite behind one candidate if there is a runoff, which would be held three weeks after last Saturday`s election.

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