Gordon Brown to discuss Zimbabwe with South Africa's leader

Voters in the southern African country are waiting for official results a week after casting their ballots

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Saturday, 05, Apr 2008 11:00

Prime minister Gordon Brown is set to speak to South African president Thabo Mbeki on the post-election situation in Zimbabwe.

Mr Brown will speak to the head of the regional power, which shares a border with Zimbabwe, soon, according to Sky News.

South Africa, which has previously backed incumbent president Robert Mugabe, is seen as having influence in the area and as a way for the UK to influence the country whose ruler blames Zimbabwe's economic difficulties on a plot hatched by Britain and the west.

Voters in the southern African country went to the polls last Friday to elect a president as well as representatives in parliament, senate and local government but full results into the polls are yet to be announced.

Opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is currently applying for a court order to force the country's election commission to release the results promptly. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has already claimed to have won the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Parliamentary results show that the MDC has a narrow lead over the ruling Zanu-PF in the lower house. The presidential polls are also being seen as a tight affair with Mr Mugabe's party saying they would back him in case of a run-off – a showdown between two candidates which occurs when no presidential hopeful achieves a 50 per cent majority.

Only partial senate results have been released so far with both parties winning an equal number of seats, according to official results.

Zimbabwe has an inflation rate of over 100,000 per cent and an unemployment rate that has crossed 80 per cent, according to official figures. Mr Mugabe has been in power since the country won independence from Britain in 1980.