Aid agencies warn of tension amid Zimbabwe election result delays

International aid agencies fear that the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the presidential election results in Zimbabwe is increasing tension across the country.

President Robert Mugabe lost control of parliament for the first time on Wednesday. Now Zimbabweans are anxious to hear whether he has also lost the presidential vote.

Authorities said Thursday night that results from the presidential election were at last beginning to trickle in after delays caused by "logistical problems".

According to the first set of results issued by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) last night, Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, were neck and neck with five senate seats each out of 60 contested.

The international development agencies Progressio, Tearfund, Trócaire, the Foundation for Development and Partnership in Africa (FEPA), and Christian Aid said they were "deeply concerned" about the counting of the votes from last Saturday's election and the failure of the ZEC to adequately explain delays in releasing the results.

They warned that the delays coupled with the discrepancies between ZEC tallies of the votes cast and those of independent observers were "leading to increasing the risk of heightened tension in the country".

Their partner agencies in Zimbabwe reported that many Zimbabweans were feeling betrayed by the failure of the ZEC to declare the election results.

The international agencies warned that the slow release of results "continues to fuel well-founded fears that the official results have been tampered with".

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission also came under fire for violating their mandate by leaving Harare before the official announcement of polls and not observing the counting of results, as they have done for previous elections.

The agencies pressed the ZEC to publish the election results and called for an external mediation team to be brought in to oversee talks between Zanu PF and MDC in the event of a disputed outcome.

They also urged the SADC leadership to re-engage formally with the current counting stage of the electoral process and asked that political leaders in the country and the wider region speak up for peace and calm to prevail.

"The protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens of Zimbabwe during this ongoing electoral period is vital," they added. "The impartiality of the security forces will be vital as will removing threats of paramilitary violence."

The Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, which works closely with the agencies, is sending delegations to the region.

Delegation member the Rev Albert Chatindo said, "We don't want any bloodshed so this is an effort that we are taking as church leaders to ask SADC and the AU [African Union] to intervene.

"The church stands for the suffering people of Zimbabwe and they are continuing to suffer as they wait for the results. We are concerned that the possibility of violence is increasing."

Discontent runs deep among Zimbabweans due to constant food and fuel shortages. The country currently suffers from the world's highest inflation rate of more than 100,000 per cent.