Suspense mounted in Zimbabwe on Sunday over the outcome of its presidential election, as lawyers appealed for the release of some 200 jailed opposition activists and a US envoy threatened sanctions.

The results of the election have not been announced more than four weeks after an election in which veteran leader Robert Mugabe faced off against opposition challenger Morgan Tsvangirai amid a spiralling economic crisis.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials were due to meet with representatives of the presidential candidates in Harare on Monday to discuss the results following a partial vote recount demanded by Mugabe supporters.

The results from the recount so far have confirmed an historic victory for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) over Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party in the parliamentary elections that were also held on 29 March.

It was the first time Zanu-PF had lost control of parliament since 1980.

Access to activists

Opposition lawyers meanwhile told AFP they were seeking an urgent court order for access to more than 200 activists detained by armed riot police in a swoop on MDC headquarters in Harare on Friday.

Alec Muchadehama, one of the lawyers, said some of the detainees were in "a serious condition" and needed medical attention, having sought refuge in the MDC offices after falling victim to attacks by government militias.

Lawyers said the activists should be either charged or released by Monday. In an interview with the BBC, the main US envoy for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer, denounced the ongoing violence and threatened Zimbabwe with UN sanctions should the crisis continue.

Frazer has said state-sponsored violence is increasing in Zimbabwe and makes a second round of the presidential election impossible. She has called for opposition leader Tsvangirai to lead a new government.

The UN Security Council was set to discuss the Zimbabwe crisis on Tuesday. The MDC on Sunday took out a full page in The Standard, an independent Zimbabwean newspaper, listing eight of the 15 people it says have been killed by government supporters in post-election violence.

Among the victims listed was a five-year old boy, Brighton Mbwera, who allegedly burnt to death while asleep after his home in the northeastern district of Uzumba was set on fire by Zanu-PF supporters.

Police could not immediately be reached to comment on the report.

Presidential election results

Analysts said they believed that the presidential election results would be published later this week and that the recount was a delaying tactic aimed at securing victory for Mugabe through a campaign of violence.

"They have delayed them for too long, and, given the pressure from the international community, there is no doubt they will be announced this week," said Lovemore Madhuku, a political analyst.

"It is very likely that they will announce that Mugabe did not get a 50 percent majority, but will show him ahead of Tsvangirai," Madhuku said.

Takura Zhangazha, a political commentator in Harare, said: "In the event of a run-off, the strategy is to ensure that there is limited access to some rural areas through violence" by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

The opposition maintains that Tsvangirai beat the 84-year-old Mugabe. The country's main independent election monitoring body said Tsvangirai won but failed to get more than the 50 percent majority needed to avoid a run-off.

Government supporters say there will probably have to be a second round of voting. Tsvangirai has given mixed signals on whether he will agree to take part in a run-off.

Opposition spokesperson Nelson Chamisa told AFP he was doubtful the results of the presidential election would be released any time soon, dismissing the prospect as "empty talk."

As international pressure on the government to release the results increased, the state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper, a government mouthpiece, called on Zimbabweans to reject foreign interference.

"Never, since independence in 1980, has the liberation struggle been under such a threat. Will true revolutionaries please stand up!" the paper's political editor, Munyaradzi Huni, wrote in an opinion piece.

AFP