Zimbabwe's electoral commission said on Sunday it would soon fix a date for the presidential election second round, as the opposition continued to consider under what conditions, if any, it would take part.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has insisted that according to its own calculations its leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the 29 March election outright.

'Official' figures

Official figures however, while putting Tsvangirai in the lead, did not give him an outright win.

But while Tsvangirai has said previously there was "no need for a run-off" he may yet take part in a second round if international observers are present.

An MDC official, who asked not to be named, told AFP the party was busy discussing conditions for a second round of voting. One condition they have set is that United Nations officials be invited to observe the elections.

The MDC was due to announce officially on Monday whether it would participate in the run-off. But most observers consider it unlikely that Tsvangirai would boycott the poll as this would leave incumbent Robert Mugabe the automatic winner.

"There are a number of conditions which we have lined up, such as the United Nations being invited to observe the run-off," the MDC official said.

"The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has lost credibility, so we feel the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) should come and assist ZEC.

Speedy results?

"Results should be announced within 48 hours after the elections, and Zanu-PF should accept the results. We also demand that soldiers should be removed from the rural areas and return to their barracks," the official added.

The ZEC told the state-run Sunday Mail it would meet "as soon as possible" to decide on a date for the run-off, which has to take place within 21 days of the publication of results.

"I cannot state exactly when the run-off will be held but I can confirm that the poll will be held on a date to be announced by the commission," ZEC chairperson George Chiweshe was quoted as saying.

Zimbabwe has been rocked by post-poll violence since the announcement of parliamentary results saw the Zanu-PF lose its majority in parliament for the first time in 28 years.

Mugabe got 43.2%

Election officials on Friday said there was no outright winner of the 29 March election, with Tsvangirai getting 47.9 percent and President Robert Mugabe getting 43.2 percent.

Thokozani Khupe, deputy leader of the MDC, speaking after a meeting of senior part leaders on Saturday, said: "In the unlikely event of a run-off, the MDC will once again romp to victory by an even bigger margin."

The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), while accepting the results, nevertheless insisted that the polls had been fraught with electoral fraud. They cited vote-buying and the bribery of election officials to count votes in favour of the opposition.

Zanu-PF officials have said that Mugabe will contest the run-off. The 84-year-old president has had a stranglehold on power since independence in 1980.

The stand-off in Zimbabwe has been accompanied by a wave of political violence in rural areas that human rights groups and the MDC have said was aimed at forcing people to vote for Mugabe in a second round.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress has encouraged the parties to seek a compromise in the form of a government of national unity, rather than going into a run-off.

"We need to look whether a re-run will be in the best interests of Zimbabwe, or whether they can negotiate a more accommodative arrangement," ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told the Sunday Times.

Tsvangirai has been a thorn in the side of Mugabe since the 1990s. He has faced charges of treason and was given a brutal beating by police last year. In 2002, he accused Mugabe of rigging his way to victory against him.

AFP