ZIMBABWE: ZIMBABWE'S MAIN opposition party has made it clear it will not take part in any second-round run-off of the presidential election against incumbent Robert Mugabe.
The party says it believes the country's future is now in the hands of regional leaders meeting in Lusaka tomorrow.
Speaking at a press conference in Johannesburg yesterday, Tendai Biti, the Movement for Democratic Change's general secretary, said: "We won the presidential election hands down without the need of a run-off. We will not participate in a run-off."
Nearly two weeks after the March 29th general election the country's official electoral body is still refusing to release the presidential results - despite the fact that vote tallies were available outside polling stations 48 hours after voting occurred.
Initially, the commission blamed technical difficulties for the delay, but many analysts now maintain that Mr Mugabe is trying to delay the announcement pending a recount or to allow time to prepare for a run-off.
However, the MDC claims results show their leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the poll by an absolute majority, thus ending Mr Mugabe's 28-year reign. A candidate needs 50 per cent plus one vote for outright victory.
With no resolution in sight and amid reports of state-sponsored violence against Zimbabwe's rural population, Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa called an emergency summit on Wednesday of the Southern African Development Community to discuss the crisis.
Mr Biti said yesterday that Zimbabwe was currently being run by a military government and that Mr Mugabe had effectively pulled off an "unconstitutional coup" by not stepping down.
He went on to say that the regime was intent on reversing the gains ordinary Zimbabweans had secured, and the people were powerless to stop it.
"The Zimbabwean question is beyond the people now. We have done what we could when we came out and voted against Mugabe and Zanu-PF.
"Our brothers and sisters [regional neighbours] must now take the battle to Mugabe; it is not an issue for us anymore, it is now in the court of SADC, the AU [African Union] and the UN," he said.
When asked if the party would take its supporters onto the streets in an effort to protect their electoral gains Mr Biti said to do so would be inviting violence: "The people have been here before; they are aware they are dealing with a viper."
Zimbabwe's regime has been accused of using widespread violence against voters in 2000 and 2002 as a method to ensure election victory.
Since early this week Mr Tsvangirai has been touring the southern African region meeting leaders to discuss the presidential result crisis and attempts by the Mugabe regime to overturn the MDC's parliamentary election victory.
The regime has ordered the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to recount the votes of 21 constituencies, which could overturn the MDC's majority in the lower house. It won the parliamentary election by 109 seats to Zanu-PF's 97.
It is understood that both Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe will be at the Lusaka meeting. A government spokesperson said Mr Mugabe was looking forward to addressing tomorrow's emergency regional summit.
"Such meetings are usually very healthy so heads of state can brief each other, not only us in Zimbabwe," said Zimbabwean information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu.
Mr Biti said regional leaders needed to push for Mr Mugabe's resignation now.
"We don't know why the world has to wait until dead bodies start littering the streets of Harare," he said.