Zimbabwe's opposition has accused the authorities of waging a war for power that has killed 10 people and forced thousands to flee their homes since parliamentary and presidential elections.
‘Ten people have so far been killed in Zimbabwe since 29 March. The situation in Zimbabwe is desperate,’ Tendai Biti, secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, told reporters in Johannesburg.
Mr Biti said hundreds of homes had been burnt and 3,000 families been displaced by the election-related violence.
He also said that more than 400 MDC activists had been detained since the vote.
‘There is a war in Zimbabwe being waged by (President Robert) Mugabe's regime against the people. The regime has unleashed violence on the people,’ Mr Biti said, appealing for foreign intervention in the crisis.
Zimbabwe recount faces delay
The ongoing partial vote recount from last month's general election in Zimbabwe could go beyond the three days initially anticipated.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said delays mean that the recount may take longer.
Utoile Silaigwana, deputy chief elections officer, said it is not a small exercise and that they want to ensure that there are no mistakes this time around.
He said the recount is going smoothly but was likely to run on following delays at some polling stations yesterday.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said he will discuss the election deadlock in Zimbabwe with African leaders on the sidelines of a UN trade and development conference in Ghana.
Mr Ban said he would discuss the issue with Ghana's president, John Kufuor, and other African leaders attending the Accra meeting, which begins today.
US President George W Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have urged African states to take more action to end the post-election deadlock in Zimbabwe.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who helped achieve a power-sharing deal to end a post-election crisis in Kenya, issued a similar call.
Zimbabwe began a partial recount of votes from the 29 March elections yesterday, despite opposition efforts to block it.
There are also widespread fears that political stalemate could erupt into violence.
A South African-led team from the 14-country Southern African Development Community (SADC) is observing the recount.
The recount in 23 of the 210 constituencies could overturn the results of the parliamentary election, which showed President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF losing its majority to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change for the first time.
Zanu-PF lost 16 of those 23 constituencies in the original count, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said.
The ruling party needs to win nine more seats for a simple majority in parliament.
Three weeks after polls were held, the presidential result has yet to be declared.
There have been concerns in the West and among the opposition that Mr Mugabe is trying to rig the results and the MDC has said it will not accept the recount.
Mr Tsvangirai, who left Zimbabwe earlier this month, said he would return but first wanted to gather international support.
Speaking in Johannesburg, he said he feared being attacked or imprisoned if he returned to Zimbabwe.
