A number of foreign journalists and Zimbabwean civil society activists have been arrested in Harare amid a fierce clampdown ahead on the eve of the expected presidential results.
The arrests suggest that more is afoot than the announcement of a presidential run-off.
Throughout the evening a number of raids were carried out at various locations in the capital during which at least four foreign journalists, one foreign activist, and an unconfirmed number of local activists were arrested.
It is understood that two of the journalists were American and one English. Among them is believed to be the correspondent for the New York Times.
A third American, an activist, has also been arrested at Harare airport as he attempted to board an evening flight to Johannesburg. Sources from the US embassy, say they are currently doing everything in their power to have him released.
Earlier one Zimbabwean was arrested by police after he accompanied a European journalist to the outskirts of the city to catch a glimpse of Robert Mugabe's private home.
It is understood the pair were followed to a hotel in the city centre where the journalist was staying. The Zimbabwean man was arrested soon after he departed from the hotel in his car.
A second Zimbabwean NGO worker has also been arrested, although there are no further details.
Some time later York Lodge on the outskirts of the city, a renowned hotspot for unaccredited journalists and civil society workers, was raided. A number of foreigners escaped but unconfirmed reports now say they have also been detained.
The first signs that something untoward was afoot came early this afternoon when a Canadian photojournalist was arrested outside Meikels Hotel, the city centre meeting point for media, diplomats and civil society groups throughout the week and where the opposition MDC hosted their press conferences.
The CBC reporter had been taking photos outside the hotel, allegedly of riot police who had gathered on the opposite side of the road, when they chased her inside and arrested her in the hotel lobby. She was released less than an hour later when she presented her appropriate accreditation.
A number of diplomats have told Independent Newspapers they have received warnings that the authorities were seeking out journalists who had entered the country without the appropriate visas, which had not been granted to non-African media, with the exception of a few.
Mugabe facing opposition pressure
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is fighting to survive the biggest crisis of his 28-year rule, after losing control of parliament for the first time since taking power after independence.
The president made his first public appearance today since weekend polls. He appeared briefly on state television when he met election observers from the African Union, but made no comment.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change claims that Mr Mugabe has also been defeated in a presidential election last Saturday and should concede defeat.
Mr Mugabe's aides have dismissed the MDC claim, hinting the opposition could be punished for publishing its own tallies, despite warnings this would be regarded as an attempted coup.
But a state-owned newspaper and projections by Mr Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party conceded that he had failed to win a majority.
The final results of the election for parliament's lower house showed the MDC with 99 seats. Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF won 97 seats and a breakaway MDC faction won 10. One independent candidate won a seat.
The outcome of the senate election will be issued next.
No official results have emerged in the presidential vote. However, all the signs are that Mr Mugabe is in the worst trouble of his rule after facing an unprecedented challenge in the elections.
Widely blamed for economic collapse of his once prosperous nation, Robert Mugabe has faced growing discontent with the world's highest inflation rate of more than 100,000%.
The opposition and international observers said Mr Mugabe rigged the last presidential election in 2002. However, some analysts say discontent over daily hardships is too great for him to fix the result this time without risking major unrest.
The mainstream MDC faction said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won 50.3% of the presidential vote and Mr Mugabe 43.8%, according to its own tallies.
