Britain accused President Robert Mugabe today of trying to steal Zimbabwe's election and of unleashing a campaign of violence against people who had voted against him.
In Britain's most outspoken criticism of the disputed March 29th election, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the world could be witnessing a "charade of democracy" in Zimbabwe.
He urged African leaders to do more to resolve the crisis, saying "democratic legitimacy throughout Africa is at stake."
If Mugabe did not listen to them, Africans and their organisations should stop recognising his government, he said.
"The constitutional crisis in Zimbabwe continues as President Mugabe persists in his ambition to steal the election," Miliband said in a written statement to parliament.
"President Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have unleashed a campaign of violence against those ordinary Zimbabweans, 60 percent of them, who in spite of everything voted against him," Miliband said.
Zimbabwe announced a delay on Sunday in a partial recount of the votes, extending a deadlock in which the opposition says 10 of its members have been killed and hundreds arrested.
The recount could overturn the results of the parliamentary election, which showed Mugabe's ZANU-PF losing its majority to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for the first time.
"No one can have any faith in this recount," Miliband said.
Results of the parallel presidential election have not been released, but MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he has won.
Tsvangirai met U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of a U.N. conference in Ghana today to discuss the crisis.
Elsewhere, some 28 opposition activists appeared in court in Harare on public order charges during an abortive general strike last week against the delay in issuing results.