More Zimbabwe farms seized, ruling delayed

Mugabe’s ruling party has demanded a recount, and a further delay in the release of results. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the commission to release them “expeditiously and with transparency.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters the release was “overdue.”

“It’s interesting that they haven’t had the official election results announced, yet there’s a call for a recount. I’m not sure of the logic train there,” he said.

A Zimbabwean court postponed until Tuesday an expected ruling on an opposition petition to force the release of results.

The court did decide that it had the jurisdiction to hear the case, an aspect that had been in dispute, lawyer Alec Muchadehama said. Even that ruling will decide only whether the matter needs to be handled urgently, Biti said, arguing Mugabe’s party was working to further stall the process. Zimbabwe’s courts are stacked with judges loyal to Mugabe.

Tsvangirai has expressed concerns the state would mobilize the armed forces, youth brigades and war veterans to terrorize voters into supporting Mugabe in any runoff. Mugabe has been accused of winning previous elections through violence and intimidation. Scores of opponents were killed during the 2002 and 2005 campaigns.

On Sunday, Mugabe urged Zimbabweans to defend land seized from white farmers, the state-controlled newspaper said Monday.

“This our soil and the soil must never go back to the whites,” Mugabe told mourners at a family funeral, referring to whites by the pejorative Shona term “mabhunu,” The Herald newspaper reported. “We don’t want to hear this fight is going backward.”

Government officials have dismissed fears of violence.

Mugabe, 84, started the often-violence seizure of white-owned farms in 2000 after he suffered his first defeat at the polls over a referendum to entrench his presidential powers. He said the farms would go to poor blacks. In reality, many of the 5,000 seized farms went to his friends and cronies.

The seizures touched off an economic collapse in the country that used to thrive on exports of food, minerals and tobacco.

Mugabe, who has ruled since his guerrilla army helped overthrow white minority rule in 1980, has seen his popularity battered by the economic crisis.

Unofficial tallies by independent monitors show Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe — but fewer than the 50 percent plus one vote required to avoid a runoff.

The law requires a runoff within 21 days of the initial election, but diplomats in Harare and at the United Nations say Mugabe may order a 90-day delay to give security forces time to clamp down.

More from msnbc.com World Blog: Bracing for climate-change migrants Bank bailout will cost taxpayers billions Red Tape: Times are tough — even for cybercriminals  Brazilian police accused of killing 11,000 since 2003 Send us your salutes to troops, friends, kin Giving back for the holiday season? Tell us how On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM AFRICA

Africa Section Front

Uganda debates death penalty for gays   Guinea accuses France of complicity in shooting Senior southern figures arrested as Sudan bans rally 5 peacekeepers die in Darfur ambushes 2nd hoax bomb threat before World Cup draw Africa Section Front   Add Africa headlines to your news reader: