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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Zimbabwe opposition claim victory | Zimbabwe opposition claim victory |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Zimbabwe's opposition party says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai has won the presidential election, releasing its own results to back up the claim. | Zimbabwe's opposition party says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai has won the presidential election, releasing its own results to back up the claim. |
| MDC Party Secretary General Tendai Biti said Mr Tsvangirai had won 50.3% of the vote to President Robert Mugabe's 43.8%, so avoiding a run-off. | MDC Party Secretary General Tendai Biti said Mr Tsvangirai had won 50.3% of the vote to President Robert Mugabe's 43.8%, so avoiding a run-off. |
| Results have yet to be officially declared but the state-run Herald newspaper has predicted a run-off. | Results have yet to be officially declared but the state-run Herald newspaper has predicted a run-off. |
| The ruling Zanu-PF party has dismissed the MDC claim as "wishful thinking". | |
| Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said it was irresponsible and could incite violence. | |
| Vacuum | |
| In his news conference, Mr Biti said there was "anxiety and disappointment" at the failure of the Zimbabwe Election Commission to declare presidential results. | In his news conference, Mr Biti said there was "anxiety and disappointment" at the failure of the Zimbabwe Election Commission to declare presidential results. |
| This had produced a vacuum, he said, giving room to all sorts of rumours. | This had produced a vacuum, he said, giving room to all sorts of rumours. |
| But Mr Biti said that if the election commission decided to neither of the main candidates had won outright, the MDC would be prepared to take part in a second round. | |
| According to the MDC's tally, Simba Makoni, an independent and former Mugabe loyalist, won 7%. | |
| Despite the MDC's declaration, the issue of whether Mr Tsvangirai has won more than 50% remains in dispute. | |
| The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a coalition of civil society organisations, said earlier that he had won 49% to Mr Mugabe's 42%. | |
| It based its results on a random sample of polling stations. | |
| In a separate development, a senior Zanu-PF official has told a BBC correspondent in Zimbabwe that he believes Mr Mugabe has been fatally damaged. | |
| The official, who did not want to be identified, said that by not declaring victory on Sunday or Monday, Mr Mugabe had shown weakness. | |
| Now, he told our correspondent, civil servants and police were determined to show even-handedness in their treatment of the Zanu-PF and the opposition. | |
| Our correspondent says that if his comments turn out to be true, Zimbabwe is on the verge of major change. | |
| Earlier, election officials said the verification of results in the presidential election had begun. | |
| They said the process was taking place in the presence of the presidential candidates' chief polling agents in Harare. |