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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mugabe rival sets run-off terms | Mugabe rival sets run-off terms |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he could take part in a presidential election run-off if certain conditions were met. | |
| Mr Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), believes he won last month's election against President Robert Mugabe outright. | Mr Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), believes he won last month's election against President Robert Mugabe outright. |
| But an MDC spokesman said a run-off was possible in a secure environment with thorough international monitoring. | But an MDC spokesman said a run-off was possible in a secure environment with thorough international monitoring. |
| He said current conditions did not allow for a free and fair vote. | He said current conditions did not allow for a free and fair vote. |
| The party would only take part if the Southern African Development Community could help oversee every stage of the count, he added. | The party would only take part if the Southern African Development Community could help oversee every stage of the count, he added. |
| Earlier, a national strike called by the MDC to demand that results from the 29 March election be published immediately received little apparent support. | |
| Dire economy | |
| Reports from the capital, Harare, said most banks, shops and offices opened as usual. | Reports from the capital, Harare, said most banks, shops and offices opened as usual. |
| The BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says a strike call was never likely to be heeded by many workers, such is the desperate state of Zimbabwe's economy. | |
| Meanwhile in South Africa, the governing African National Congress has made its boldest statement so far on Zimbabwe, saying it regards the situation in the country as "dire". | |
| Send us your comments | |
| Zimbabwe's election commission says it cannot release the results of the presidential election until a partial recount is completed at the weekend. | Zimbabwe's election commission says it cannot release the results of the presidential election until a partial recount is completed at the weekend. |
| Independent counts suggested that Mr Tsvangirai won the election but took less than 50% of the vote, meaning he would face a run-off. | Independent counts suggested that Mr Tsvangirai won the election but took less than 50% of the vote, meaning he would face a run-off. |
| The MDC had previously said it would not take part in a run-off because it might lead to violence and the intimidation of the party's supporters around the country. | |
| MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti told the BBC on Tuesday that two of its activists had been killed and 200 hospitalised after being assaulted by ruling party militias. | |
| The party has said its supporters have been beaten up in rural areas where the MDC won. | |
| On Monday, Zimbabwe's High Court dismissed an opposition petition for the results to be released immediately, saying reported anomalies should first be investigated. | |
| In last month's elections Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time during his 28-year rule. | |
| But the party could recover that majority if it is awarded just nine of the 23 seats subject to a recount. |