A Zimbabwe high court on Monday postponed deciding whether to order the release of the country's presidential election results, unannounced more than a week after the vote.

Riot police stand outside the High Court in Harare on Monday.
(Associated Press)

The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), submitted a petition to the court Sunday seeking to force Zimbabwe's electoral commission to publish results of the March 29 vote, after being barred from the courthouse by armed police the day before.

Zimbabwean High Court Judge Tendai Uchena adjourned a nearly four-hour hearing on the application Sunday, saying he wanted to first consider an argument from the electoral commission that the court does not have jurisdiction on the issue.

The court has decided it can rule on it, but will wait until Tuesday, opposition lawyer Alec Muchadehama said Monday. A lawyer with the electoral commission confirmed that any further ruling is postponed until Tuesday.

Results from legislative elections, released last week, show the MDC won, while early unofficial tallies suggest the MDC also took the presidential vote, though not necessarily with the 50 per cent plus one majority required to prevent a runoff.

Request for international help

MDC Leader Morgan Tsvangirai appealed for international assistance Monday, calling for a moratorium on aid to Zimbabwe until President Robert Mugabe relinquishes power.

"We urge the International Monetary Fund, at its meeting this week, to withhold … aid to Zimbabwe unless the defeated ex-president accepts the election results in full and hands over the reins of power," Tsvangirai wrote in an opinion piece published in the British newspaper the Guardian.

Tsvangirai flew to South Africa on Sunday to meet with leaders. South African President Thabo Mbeki had mediated failed pre-election talks between Tsvangirai's and Mugabe's parties.

Both parties — including the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) — have said they are prepared to fight for the presidency in a run-off election, although that possibility appeared tenuous Sunday when ZANU-PF called for a recount of the presidential vote before the official numbers had even been released.

"What we know is that within 48 hours, you can ask for a recount at the voting station," Tsvangirai told CBC News in an exclusive interview.

"Now, in this case, the results have already been collected at all voting stations. So what kind of a recount are they talking about? It would not only be illegal, but it would be totally impractical to do so."

Run-off could be delayed

A spokesman for the MDC said the party was no longer in favour of a run-off and will instead continue with legal attempts to force publication of the results.

Results released by the electoral commission last Wednesday showed ZANU-PF had lost control of parliament, with 109 seats going to MDC and 97 to Mugabe's party.

Final results for the 60 elected seats in the Senate gave the ruling party and the opposition 30 seats each.

The constitution provides for a run-off in a presidential vote within three weeks of the elections, although the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper said Friday Mugabe could try to use his presidential powers to amend the Electoral Act to extend the run-off period to 90 days and rule by decree in the interim.

Diplomats in Harare and at the UN have also suggested Mugabe wants to declare a longer delay before holding a run-off vote to give security forces time to clamp down on the opposition.

Mugabe fans racial tensions

In another development, Mugabe has urged Zimbabweans to defend land seized by white farmers, prompting militant elements of his supporters to invade at least 23 farms in southern Masvingo province and northern Centenary, said Trevor Gifford, president of the Commercial Farmers Union.

"In Masvingo where the police have been very co-operative, every time they remove invaders, within five, six hours they're reinvading," he told the Associated Press. "It's very apparent that this is being co-ordinated from higher up the chain of command."

He said farm workers were being forced to chant anthems in support of the ruling party, and that many farm owners had fled their properties for fear of violence.

"The farmers are being told that everything on the farm is the property of those invading," he said.

Mugabe, 84, came to power in 1980 after a seven-year war for independence.

He is facing the greatest challenge to his 28-year grip on power, which has been tarnished in recent years by an economic collapse, with annual inflation rising above 100,000 per cent and unemployment at 80 per cent.

Journalists released

Also on Monday, a lawyer said a New York Times correspondent and British man arrested and accused of illegally reporting in Zimbabwe have been freed. However, their passports are being held, making it impossible for them to leave the country.

Barry Bearak, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Times, suffered a back injury during his time in prison after falling two metres from his bunk bed to the concrete floor, the Times reported on its website.

The Briton's identity has not been made public. The journalists were detained last Thursday when riot police entered a Harare hotel frequented by correspondents.

Zimbabwe's government barred most foreign reporters from covering the elections. CBC's Adrienne Arsenault and Laura Lynch were among the few accredited to cover the vote.

With files from the Associated Press