Doubts cast on Mugabe attending summit

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe raised doubts on Friday overwhether President Robert Mugabe would attend an emergencyregional summit at the weekend to discuss deepening concernover a post election deadlock.

Officials had earlier said Mugabe was expected to attendthe Lusaka summit on Saturday of the 14-nation Southern AfricanDevelopment Community (SADC).

But as pressure rose on Mugabe to release the delayedresults of a presidential election nearly two weeks ago, DeputyInformation Minister Bright Matonga said the government wasstill discussing whether the veteran leader should attend.

"We didn't call for that summit, it was called by SADC ...We are working on the request. Who invites who is not ourprerogative, but this summit was done without priorconsultation with the government of Zimbabwe," he told Reuters.

Human rights organisations and the opposition Movement forDemocratic Change say Mugabe has unleashed a campaign ofsystematic violence in response to his ZANU-PF party's firstelectoral defeat, when it lost control of parliament in theMarch 29 election.

The MDC says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai also won aparallel presidential vote, whose results have not beenannounced, and Mugabe's 28-year rule is over.

Zimbabwean police said all political rallies were bannedbecause there were not enough police to send to them with someguarding ballot boxes and others deployed to towns in case ofviolence. Police did not say how long the ban would last.

An opposition source said Tsvangirai met President ThaboMbeki of Zimbabwe's powerful neighbour South Africa on Thursdayto discuss the crisis. No details were revealed.

Tsvangirai earlier met ruling African National Congressleader Jacob Zuma, who rivals Mbeki as South Africa's mostpowerful man.

Zuma, abandoning some of Mbeki's trademark "quietdiplomacy" called for the results to be released.

"We urge all parties to respect the will of the people,regardless of the outcome," Zuma said in a speech on Thursday.

"COORDINATED RETRIBUTION"

Amnesty International said in a statement there werewidespread incidents of post-election violence in Zimbabwe"suggesting the existence of coordinated retribution againstknown and suspected opposition supporters".

Amnesty called on SADC leaders to redouble efforts to avoidfurther deterioration of the human rights situation and urgethe Zimbabwean Electoral Commission to release the results.

Human Rights Watch said the Lusaka meeting was SADC's "lastreal chance" to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe, whose economyis in ruins.

A quarter of the population have fled to escapehyper-inflation of more than 100,000 percent, chronic shortagesof food and fuel and 80 percent unemployment.

The U.S. based body also accused ZANU-PF of increasingassaults on opposition activists and polling agents.

Prospects of any result from the SADC summit are unclear.Critics say the body is a toothless talking shop, too in awe ofliberation hero Mugabe to take firm action.

Neither Mugabe, known for his uncompromising style, nor theelectoral authorities seem ready to buckle. The electoralcommission indicated late on Thursday that the results wouldhave to await the outcome of an opposition legal case.

A High Court judge has promised a verdict by Monday on anMDC application to force release of the result.

Tsvangirai has accused Mugabe of a de facto coup tooverturn the election result and called on African nations andWestern powers to force him to step down, ending hisuninterrupted rule since independence from Britain in 1980.

Even though the results remain officially unknown, JusticeMinister Patrick Chinamasa said ZANU-PF was preparing for aMugabe-Tsvangirai runoff -- necessary if neither won more than50 percent of the first round vote.

Analysts say in a free runoff Tsvangirai would humiliateMugabe. But they believe the veteran leader plans to use hispowerful security forces and irregular militias, includingindependence war veterans, to ensure a second round victory.

(Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe, StellaMapenzauswa, Cris Chinaka, Muchena Zigomo and Paul Simao;writing by Barry Moody; editing by Matthew Tostevin)