Mugabe claims landslide victory in Zimbabwe election

Harare: Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was sworn in for a fresh five-year term on Sunday after being declared winner of a presidential run-off in which he was the only candidate.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at his official residence in Harare.

The inauguration extends Mugabe's unbroken 28-year rule of the former British colony.

Results released for eight or Zimbabwe's 10 provinces give Mugabe an "unassailable lead," state TV said Sunday, before switching from the electoral commission to a soccer game.

The results also show high numbers of voters spoiled their ballots by defacing them or marking them inaccurately.

Earlier television footage showed Mugabe claiming victory, “The returns show that we are winning convincingly, that we have won in all the 26 constituencies in Harare."

Mugabe contested in the election unopposed after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off citing political violence as the main reason.

The election has been branded a sham worldwide, with various parties calling for a fresh poll and foreign observers saying that the result was neither free nor fair.

Meanwhile, Mugabe has agreed to post-election talks with the opposition to resolve the country's political crisis, the Sunday Mail reported.

Mugabe reportedly told Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, leader of an African Union observer team, that he was open to talks suggested by Catholic bishops.

"The President agreed to the proposal, saying we will have those contacts. He said it must, however, be a meeting of our minds, not a meeting of other people's minds through us," an official source said.