(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-31 08:14

On Sunday, commission chairman Judge George Chiweshe was forced to flee from a Harare hotel after he was mobbed by journalists and ordinary people. "We want results," they yelled.

"This has been a more complicated election," Chiweshe said. "We will be releasing the results as soon as we can." He said it was taking time because Zimbabweans -- for the first time -- voted for president, the two houses of Parliament and local councilors, so four ballots have to be counted for each voter instead of one.

Observers from the South African Democratic Alliance opposition party said accounts from observers and others indicated the opposition "has won a majority in most areas."

"If this is not reflected in the results, this will be yet another indication that the election was rigged," they added.

Mugabe has dismissed allegations of vote rigging. "We do not rig," he said Saturday after voting and promising to respect results. "If you lose an election and are rejected by the people, it is time to leave politics."

Observers from the Pan-African Parliament, though, have questioned thousands of names on the official voter roll, and the government has barred several international media organizations and some observers from the US and Europe.

The Southern African Development Community's observer mission said it was concerned by the threats made by the country's security chiefs, delays in producing the voters' roll, the presence of police officers in polling stations and lack of impartiality in the state media.

Nevertheless, those observers told reporters the elections "were in general a free expression of the people of Zimbabwe."

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