South African President Thabo Mbeki met Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Harare today to try to help end the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had declined to meet Mbeki, who has tried to mediate between the two sides after Mugabe's disputed re-election on June 27.
Mr Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said: "Yes, the president earlier today met President Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara in the context of the mediation process." Mutambara leads a breakaway faction of the MDC.
Spokesman for the main MDC, Nelson Chamisa, said the party was "mandated to negotiate under the resolutions of the Africa Union and the Southern Africa Development Community ... on the basis that there is accountability (and) transparency".
"Unfortunately the planned meeting today did not comply with the framework we would have envisaged, a fruitful and beneficial dialogue. That is why we decided not to engage in that meeting with President Mbeki," he said.
"If we were meeting Mugabe as head of ZANU-PF no problem but not as head of state because we would have endorsed him but you know that his position is in dispute."
Mr Mbeki's trip follows the run-off presidential election on June 27. Mr Mugabe was the only candidate after Mr Tsvangirai pulled out citing state sponsored violence.
Mr Tsvangirai and his MDC have criticised Mr Mbeki's mediation efforts, accusing him of siding with President Mugabe. Mr Mugabe says he supports Mbeki's role in the mediation.
Earlier, a video came to light of vote rigging in the presidential run-off.
In secretly filmed footage, a prison guard and fellow prison officers were shown being forced to vote for President Robert Mugabe in front of senior prison officers.
The guard, Shepherd Yuda, filmed the vote-rigging for the Guardian newspaper. He has since fled the country.