Fears of vote rigging in Zimbabwe poll

Harare: Vote count delays in Zimbabwe's presidential election has raised concerns over poll rigging as the international community called for faster reporting of results.

The ruling Zanu-PF claimed it was leading the presidential vote, but election observers said the edge would not be enough to avoid a run-off.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claimed victory on Monday and alleged the delay in vote counting was designed to allow time for the results to be fixed in President Robert Mugabe's favour.

The US and European Union have also called for faster reporting of official results to ease concerns and guard against fraud.

Riot police have been deployed in towns around Harare and residents have been ordered to stay off the streets amid tensions.