Police banned all political rallies Friday as the southern African nation's political crisis deepened nearly two weeks after a presidential election that produced no official winner. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he won the vote outright and has been traveling the region to try to persuade neighboring leaders to pressure President Robert Mugabe to step down. Southern Africa's leaders are to meet in Zambia on Saturday to discuss the crisis. Zimbabwean police announced Friday that all political rallies were canceled, according to state radio. No explanation for the ban was given. The opposition has accused security forces and ruling party militants of engaging in a wave of violence against perceived opponents since the vote and of clamping down on the opposition.

Opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the Movement for Democratic Change party had planned a rally for Sunday.

"You can't be a political organization and not hold a rally, that is what makes us who we are, how we communicate with our supporters," he said, adding that they had not decided whether to go ahead with the rally.

"We cannot accept a declaration of a police state. People have just voted for change, for democracy and what do they get? This is unacceptable. This is ridiculous," he said.

Official results from the March 29 election have yet to be released. Independent observer tallies suggest Mugabe, the nation's ruler for the past 28 years, lost the vote, but that a runoff would be necessary because no candidate won the majority needed for outright victory.

The High Court was to rule Monday on an opposition request demanding the release of the results. The electoral commission said in a statement Friday that it will not comment on the status of the results until the court rules.

Tsvangirai met with South African President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday to press his case, opposition spokesman Nqobizitha Mlilo said.

"The meeting went well," Mlilo said. "We're cautiously optimistic about the outcome." Mbeki's spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

The opposition party accuses Mugabe of delaying the results to orchestrate a runoff and give ruling party militants time to intimidate voters and ensure he wins a second round.

Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu insisted Mugabe was not preventing the results from being released.

The ruling party and Mugabe "are also eagerly waiting for the (election commission) to complete its ballot votes verification freely without any interference and without pressure not to release the results," he said in a statement, according to the state-run Herald newspaper.

Mbeki has been the chief regional mediator in Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis, and other African leaders have deferred to his strategy of "quiet diplomacy." But that strategy has been criticized by some in the region and the West.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, the only southern African leader to publicly criticize Mugabe's policies, called an emergency summit of regional leaders for Saturday to discuss the crisis.

Zimbabwe's Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga had earlier confirmed Mugabe would attend the summit. Media reports Friday afternoon said Mugabe had changed his mind. But Matonga said no firm decision had been made on whether Mugabe would accept the invitation, saying "the request is now being considered."

Mlilo said Tsvangirai received a direct invitation to the meeting and that he would be a full participant in the summit, claiming the election outcome meant the opposition leader was now a "head of state."

Mugabe has traditionally enjoyed the support of other African leaders, using past meetings of the Southern African Development Community as platforms to denounce his opposition and Western leaders he accuses of plotting to topple him.

About 100 young Zimbabweans carrying placards reading "SADC be serious this time" and "Mbeki, you have betrayed Zimbabwe" held a protest Friday in Pretoria, South Africa. The Revolutionary Youth Movement of Zimbabwe called for regional leaders to pressure "Mugabe into finally accepting defeat," the organization said in a statement.

Matonga said he saw little reason for the Zambia summit, given that the election results had not been released. Matonga said that it would be appropriate for Zimbabwe's neighbors to step in if the results were released and then were disputed.

"I'm surprised by this whole emergency meeting," Matonga told The Associated Press.

Written By ANGUS SHAW

Email To A Friend