African and Western observer groups appeared to have witnessed completely different elections yesterday as they issued sharply conflicting reports on the controversial poll.
Observers from Nigeria endorsed President Mugabe's re-election, saying they had seen nothing that would "threaten the integrity and outcome of the election".
A Namibian team was happy that the poll was "free and fair and reflects the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe" and they deemed the voting process "water tight, without room for rigging".
Likewise, the influential South African delegation declared the result "legitimate" and described polling chaos that saw thousands of voters turned away as an "administrative oversight".
In contrast, a highly critical Norwegian report found that the poll "failed to meet key, broadly accepted, criteria" and the ruling Zanu-PF party was to blame for the "vast majority" of pre-election violence.
The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell accused President Mugabe of a systematic subversion of democracy on Wednesday and said Washington was considering new sanctions. A senior State Department official said Washington was expected to freeze any US assets held by Mr Mugabe and his close associates.
The most senior American official for Africa, Mr Walter Kansteiner, described the poll as "fundamentally flawed" while New Zealand, which has two former ambassadors serving as observers, said it was ready to impose sanctions. On Monday Zimbabwean police detained four US officials for several hours as they returned from an election-observing mission.
The one notable exception to the split between Africa and Western perceptions was the parliamentary forum of the Southern African Development Community. In a strongly word statement outlining state-sponsored violence, impartial policing and "slanted" media coverage, it declared that Zimbabwe had failed to comply with the required electoral standards for SADC states.
Zimbabwe is a particularly sensitive issue for South Africa, the regional powerhouse. The prolonged crisis just over South Africa's northern border has caused the rand to plunge in value over the past year and it has badly hurt foreign investment levels.
Every day dozens of Zimbabweans brave crocodile-infested stretches of the Limpopo rivers to cross into South Africa. But despite his growing troubles, President Mbeki has consistently refused to publicly criticise Mr Mugabe, a former comrade in the struggle against white rule.
Yesterday President Mbeki refused to comment on the result but pledged to "assist Zimbabwe irrespective of the outcome..."
The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, expressed concern at the result saying "on the face of it there are very serious human rights and democracy issues involved".