Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwe government have denied talks to arrange the resignation of President Robert Mugabe.
Asked about widespread media reports that a deal had been reached for Mr Mugabe to step down, Mr Tsvangirai said 'What deal? Let's not be influenced by speculation.'
He added 'There is no way we would enter into any deal before the ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) announces a final result.'
While results in the parliamentary elections are continuing to emerge slowly, there is no indication of presidential counts.
Projections by several bodies including the political parties show the Movement for Democratic Change leader would beat Mr Mugabe but fall short of the 51% voted needed to avoid a run-off.
But MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti strongly denied persistent media reports, some citing MDC sources, saying the opposition was in talks on a Mr Mugabe exit.
A senior Western diplomat in Harare told reporters the international community was discussing ideas to try to persuade Mr Mugabe to step down. However, he said there was nothing firm on the table.
The speculation comes as international pressure mounts on the Zimbabwean authorities, as the wait for the results of Saturday's presidential and parliamentary elections goes on.
As counting continues, the US and the EU have called for the full results to be released as soon as possible.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change claimed that its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, had taken 60% of the votes in the presidential election and is expected to declare victory over President Robert Mugabe.
Last night, riot police in armored carriers were deployed in the capital, Harare, as tension mounted that the delays may be caused by vote rigging.
With the latest results from the 210 parliamentary constituencies announced, the MDC had won 77 seats, being just overtaken by Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF with 79.
Despite calls from foreign governments, there was still no official word on the battle for the presidency between 84-year-old Robert Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai as well as long shot candidate Simba Makoni, a former finance minister.
Cashing in on the public demand for information, vendors have been selling the only state-run newspaper for three times the official cover price.
With the results process moving at a snail's pace, foreign governments have urged the state-appointed Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to step up its declarations.
Some voters have expressed scepticism about the parliamentary results that have so far been released, having expected ZANU-PF to be wiped out as a backlash to the economic meltdown which has blighted the country.
Based on its own calculations, the MDC is confident that it has clearly won both the presidential and parliamentary contest.
But ZANU-PF party sources said today their projection showed Mr Tsvangirai falling short of the 51% needed for outright victory in the presidential poll.
And a respected coalition of NGOs, which deployed some 8,000 local election observers, has projected Mr Tsvangirai will fall just short of the votes needed to deliver a knock-out blow to President Mugabe.
According to the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), Mr Tsvangirai won 49.4% of the votes against 41.8% for Robert Mugabe, a result which would trigger a second round run-off later this month.
The elections come as Zimbabwe grapples with an inflation rate of over 100,000% and widespread shortages of even basic foodstuffs such as bread and cooking oil.
Robert Mugabe, who has led the former Rhodesia since independence in 1980, has blamed the economic woes on the EU and the US, which imposed sanctions on his inner circle after he was accused of rigging his 2002 re-election.
