Zimbabwe's ruling party and its opponents have challenged half the results of the March 29 parliamentary election, state media said on Wednesday, extending a stalemate that has triggered violence.
Official results showed ZANU-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980, while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and a breakaway faction together secured enough seats to control the assembly.
The fresh challenge to the election results by the two biggest parties could change the balance of power in the new parliament. The assembly can be sworn in during an electoral court's review of contested seats, but the court can remove deputies later if it overturns any results.
The challenge will have no impact on a parallel presidential ballot, in which MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai won 47.9 percent against President Robert Mugabe's 43.2 percent, triggering a run-off since neither candidate won an absolute majority.
The MDC has not said whether it will participate in the run-off. It believes Tsvangirai won the election outright and has ended Mugabe's 28-year rule over the once-prosperous country whose economy is in ruins. If Tsvangirai does not contest the run-off, Mugabe is automatically declared the winner.
The African Union and regional grouping SADC sent teams to Zimbabwe this week to meet Mugabe and other officials.
SADC urged all parties to participate in the run-off and accept the results. The AU called on "all the Zimbabwe political actors to conduct their activities in a free, transparent, tolerant, and non-violent manner to enable eligible Zimbabweans exercise their democratic rights."
Irregularities?
Western countries have called on African states to do more to end the turmoil, which has taken its toll on the region. South Africa's chamber of commerce said on Wednesday the crisis was contributing to a decline in business confidence.
The state-run Herald newspaper said ZANU-PF and the MDC had lodged 53 and 52 petitions respectively with the electoral court, citing irregularities they believed had affected the results. The challenges come after a recount of original results in 23 constituencies confirmed ZANU-PF's defeat.
The court has six months to rule on the complaints, which dispute the results of exactly half of parliament's 210 seats.
Political logjam
The delay is a further setback for Zimbabweans, who had high hopes the election would usher in a new era of peace and prosperity, but are now victims of a protracted political logjam and post-election violence.
Tsvangirai left Zimbabwe shortly after the vote and has been touring African countries seeking support from leaders to help push out Mugabe, 84. He has left more junior party leaders in charge at home, where food and fuel shortages and hyper-inflation are affecting millions.
Mugabe faces growing pressure to resolve the crisis.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was talking to African states about how the world body could help make a run-off credible and expressed concern about the violence.
SADC, which has the best chance of influencing Mugabe, may be ready to press him to accept U.N. monitors. But Mugabe, accused by critics of using security crackdowns to keep a grip on power, has not budged.
The MDC accuses ZANU-PF of a violent campaign to intimidate Zimbabweans into voting for Mugabe in a run-off. The ruling party says MDC supporters have engaged in political violence.