Voter intimidation marks Zimbabwe election

In addition, Reporters Without Borders expressed concern about a freelance reporter and cameraman who were arrested Friday while covering Mugabe at a polling station. The group said Frank Chikowore -- who on a blog entry calls himself a Zimbabwean independent journalist -- along with a camerman who wasn't fully identified were taken to a police station.

Hundreds of journalists, mainly from Western media organizations, have been banned from covering Zimbabwe's elections.

Tsvangirai, whose name remained on the ballot because his withdrawal on Sunday came too late, said he still wanted negotiations about a transitional authority for Zimbabwe but was not sure whether he could talk with Mugabe, 84.

The two leaders have been under pressure to sit down and find a solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe 'upbeat'
Mugabe, who has been president since independence in 1980, offered an olive branch to the opposition Thursday, saying he was "open to discussion" with them.

He appeared jovial as he voted, telling a reporter in Harare he was feeling "very fit, very optimistic, upbeat and hungry."

Shortly after voting, Mugabe told Southern African Development Community observers he was confident he would be victorious, a spokesman for the key regional bloc said on Angolan state radio.

Marwick Khumalo, head of the Pan-African Parliament observer mission, told the BBC the mood in Harare was somber and that the turnout was low.

He said while walking in one high density suburb, observers mistook a long line of people for voters waiting at a polling station, only to find that the people were queuing for bread.

"It was quite a very long queue," he said.

Khumalo said he had not seen signs of intimidation and that the organization would make an announcement on the election on Sunday.

However, he said he had not seen "the ingredients that make this election free and fair."

Tsvangirai was first in a field of four in the March vote, an embarrassment to Mugabe. The official tally said he did not gain the votes necessary to avoid a runoff against Mugabe. Tsvangirai's party and its allies also won control of parliament in March, dislodging Mugabe's party for the first time since independence in 1980.

AU discussions
Mugabe was once hailed as a post-independence leader committed to development and reconciliation, but in recent years has been denounced as a dictator intent only on holding onto power through intimidation and election fraud.

Zimbabwe was the topic of long, closed-door discussions Friday in Egypt among foreign ministers gathered ahead of an African Union summit that begins Monday -- and that Mugabe has said he will attend.

Some AU members say the runoff shouldn't have been held, while others, such as regional powerhouse South Africa, refuse to publicly criticize Mugabe even on that point.

"Our position is that the parties in Zimbabwe should work together for the future of Zimbabwe," South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told AP Television News.

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