By Cris Chinaka
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe wasexpected to be sworn in on Sunday after winning a one-candidateelection boycotted by the opposition.
Government sources told Reuters on Saturday that officialtallies from two-thirds of polling stations showed Mugabe, 84,defeating opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai by a huge marginin a widely-condemned poll.
Tsvangirai's name remained on ballot papers after electoralauthorities refused to accept his decision to withdraw a weekago on the grounds of violence against his supporters. He hastaken refuge in the Dutch embassy since then.
Election authorities said on Saturday evening that countingwas complete and they hoped to finish verification andcollation shortly, clearing the way to announce the result.
"The tallies are indicating that despite the wishes of ourdetractors and the propaganda of our enemies, the voter turnoutwas very big and that we are going to see a landslide victory,"said one government source, who declined to be identified.
"If the official results are released today as we are allhoping, the indications are the inauguration will be tomorrow."
A Sunday inauguration would be timed to enable Mugabe toattend an African Union (AU) summit in Egypt on Monday afterextending his 28-year rule of Zimbabwe, a once-prosperouscountry now crippled by poverty and hyper-inflation.
President George W. Bush called the vote a sham and saidWashington would impose new sanctions on an illegitimategovernment. He said he would call on the U.N. to impose an armsembargo on Zimbabwe and a travel ban on its officials.
The European Union said in a statement that Zimbabweanscould not vote freely and so "the election lost all legitimacyas well as the administration that has resulted from it".
Foreign ministers preparing for the AU summit indicated itwould not support sanctions. African countries are believed tohave more sway with Mugabe than Western powers.
"LOW TURNOUT"
Witnesses and monitors reported a low turnout in many areasin Friday's election, which was widely condemned afterTsvangirai withdrew saying almost 90 of his supporters had beenkilled in systematic violence by Mugabe's supporters.
They said voters in some places had been forced to vote forthe president. Tsvangirai said millions of people stayed awayfrom polling stations despite systematic intimidation.
The opposition leader and his Movement for DemocraticChange (MDC) won presidential and parliamentary elections onMarch 29 but fell short of the majority needed for outrightvictory.
In contrast to the expected declaration of Friday's resultwithin 24 hours, the outcome of the March 29 presidential polltook five weeks to emerge. Human rights lawyers say that delaymade Friday's run-off unconstitutional.
Many Western leaders urged the AU to take action, sayingZimbabwe's turmoil threatened regional security. The MDC saidit would lobby the summit leaders.
"The summit has to take a firm position on the transitionwe seek. It's now a matter of peace and security. We hope thematter gets the urgent attention it deserves. We should notwait for rivers of blood and the complete breakdown of order,"MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.
Mugabe said before the vote he would confront his Africancritics at the meeting. Ministers attending a meeting toprepare the summit shied away from proposals for strongerinternational sanctions against Mugabe, saying they wereunlikely to work and a power-sharing deal should be encouraged.
AU mediation helped form a power-sharing government inKenya earlier this year, ending a crisis in which 1,500 died.
"I think we need to engage Zimbabwe. The route of sanctionsmay not be the helpful one," Kenyan Foreign Minister MosesWetangula told reporters at the summit venue, Sharm el Sheikh.
Tsvangirai said earlier this week he would not negotiatewith Mugabe if he went ahead with the election.
The MDC's Chamisa criticised South African President ThaboMbeki, whose quiet diplomacy in Zimbabwe as the designatedregional mediator has failed to end the crisis. He is widelyaccused of being too soft on Mugabe.
"President Mbeki has become part of the problem. ... Idon't know why he is trying to resurrect a regime that wasrejected by the people," Chamisa said.
Gordon Brown, prime minister of former colonial powerBritain, said Zimbabwe had reached a new low. "We will workwith international partners to find a way to close thissickening chapter that has cost so many lives," he said.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980,has presided over Zimbabwe's slide into economic chaos withinflation estimated to have reached at least 2 million percent.
He blames Western sanctions for economic collapse and theopposition for political violence.
(Additional reporting by Nelson Banya and MacDonaldDzirutwe in Harare, Marius Bosch in Johannesburg, Daniel Wallisand Cynthia Johnston in Sharm el Sheikh and Tabassum Zakaria inWashington; writing by Barry Moody; editing by Andrew Roche)
