ANC Hits Out at 'dire' Zimbabwe Situation

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) today described the situation in Zimbabwe as "dire", breaking ranks with the president, Thabo Mbeki, and his policy of quiet diplomacy towards the Robert Mugabe regime.

The ANC's policy-making National Working Committee issued a statement saying it would be "undemocratic and unprecedented" for Zimbabwe to hold a run-off presidential vote without first announcing election results.

Mbeki has said there is "no crisis in Zimbabwe". He is the national president of South Africa, but was ousted as the ANC president in December.

Baleka Mbete, who is both the chairman of the ANC and the parliamentary speaker, said Zimbabwe's failure to release the election results was an example of "democratic process gone wrong".

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change has learned that its high court attempt to block the state-run election commission's plan to recount votes has been delayed by one day.

Judge Antonia Guvava deferred the application until tomorrow morning, saying she would then rule on whether the MDC's legal team would be permitted to file supplementary evidence or whether the case should be dismissed.

The MDC desperately wants to avoid a recount, fearing such a move would wipe out its newly-won parliamentary majority and deprive its presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, of what he says is a clear victory over Mugabe.

A spokesman for Tsvangirai today said the MDC would only take part in a run-off if a verified tally showed no candidate had won more than 50% percent of the first vote, held on March 29, and if a new poll was run by a body from outside Zimbabwe.

The country's electoral commission "clearly has no capacity to run any credible election", the spokesman said.

A government spokesman said bringing in outsiders was not necessary and would be unconstitutional.

Frustrated by the high court delay, the opposition may also have been disappointed by the poor performance of a national strike today.

It called the strike - or stay away, as some activists described it - last night after the high court refused to publish the results of the election.

The strike was the first test of the MDC's influence on the public since the elections.

Police and soldiers were stationed across Harare in preparation for the strike, but shops and banks opened as usual this morning and traffic in Harare was reported to be busy.

Unemployment in Zimbabwe is running at about 80%, so most people do not have formal jobs to stay away from, and those who have employment desperately need the money. Previous general strikes have failed.

The state-run Herald newspaper, regarded as a Zanu-PF mouthpiece, today published what it alleged was evidence to back the government's claim of vote-rigging by the opposition.

The newspaper said a document â€" which the government presented to a meeting of regional leaders at the weekend in an attempt to justify the results delay â€" was written by the MDC's secretary general, Tendai Biti, outlining a plan to bribe polling officials to "overstate" opposition votes.

The document speaks of a plan to "render the country ungovernable, including the possibility of resorting to armed insurrection".

The MDC said it was false and part of a "dirty campaign" by the government.

Tsvangirai remains in South Africa, where he is trying to build pressure on Mugabe to step down.

Mbeki is pressing for a national unity government, and won backing for that position from some countries at the weekend's regional summit.

However, there was disagreement over whether Mugabe should be urged to step down, and Zimbabwean opposition sources say Mbeki privately favors Zanu-PF remaining in control.