Mugabe loses Zimbabwe referendum

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has lost a referendum on constitutional reform.

Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede announced the official results in Harare. The opposition's "no" campaign won 697,754 votes or 55 per cent against 578,210 for the "yes" vote with all Zimbabwe's 120 constituencies declared.

Mugabe and his ruling party were looking for support for the draft constitution, but opponents argued that it would have further entrenched Mugabe in power. The draft constitution also contained clauses allowing the government to confiscate mostly white-owned commercial farms for resettlement.

The referendum is seen as a test of the government's popularity ahead of the elections due in April.