The two sets of numbers were produced by two separate government offices. The opposition alleges that the concealed figures are consistent with past voting patterns and voter registration statistics per district and support the possibility that its candidate won the election.
The documents emerge at a critical and fragile time. Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria were due to arrive in Harare today in an urgent attempt to broker a negotiated settlement between Mugabe and his main rival, former trade union leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The two African heads of state are in a pickle. Seen as leading visionaries of renewal on their continent, Mbeki and Obasanjo are eager to demonstrate that Africans can be their own keepers. They, along with Prime Minister John Howard of Australia, form a Commonwealth panel on Zimbabwe and are due in London tomorrow to determine whether the 54-state assembly of former colonies should impose sanctions against Zimbabwe over the flawed ballot.
They don't have a lot of room for maneuvering. Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have rejected suggestions of forming a government of national unity. And Britain's Lord Carrington and the New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark, both have said publicly in recent days that failure to suspend Zimbabwe would threaten the Commonwealth's existence.
In an uncharacteristically harsh condemnation of the actions of a member state, the Commonwealth election observers concluded last week that Zimbabwe's vote ''did not adequately allow for a free expression of will by the electors.''
On the morning of his swearing-in, despite the cannon fire and air force flyover, Mugabe struggled to hold a brave face. Sheltered from the public on the manicured State House grounds, the 78-year-old leader took the oath before a crowd of party stalwarts and supporters. His arrival brought no pomp and circumstance and hardly any cheers. Only five of his regional counterparts sat beside him on the podium. [End Excerpt]