A Zimbabwe court delayed until tomorrow a ruling on whether it could order the release of presidential election results which President Robert Mugabe is trying to hold up.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition says Mugabe wants to delay the result to help him find a way out of the biggest crisis of his 28-year rule. It is asking the High Court to force release of the results. The MDC says its leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai, has already won and should be declared president, ending Mugabe's uninterrupted rule since independence from Britain.
After a hearing lasting almost four hours, High Court judge Tendai Uchena adjourned to consider an electoral commission argument that he did not have jurisdiction.
No results have emerged from the presidential vote eight days ago but Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF wants the electoral commission to delay announcing the outcome pending a recount.
Mugabe suffered his first election defeat when ZANU-PF lost control of parliament in the March 29 elections.
ZANU-PF's request for a recount and delay is part of Mugabe's strategy to stay in power despite the defeat and projections he also lost the presidential vote.
The strategy includes legal challenges against some of the parliamentary results and deployment of pro-government militias before a possible runoff.
A group of militant liberation war veterans, often used as political shock troops by Mugabe, have re-emerged to back him.
Electoral rules say a runoff must be held three weeks after the release of results, meaning the longer the delay the more time Mugabe has to regroup.