Zimbabwe Recount Halted

The court was approached on Sunday by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for an order forcing the ZEC to suspend the recount.

The ruling followed an announcement by the ZEC that it would carry out a partial recount of votes cast in the combined presidential, parliamentary and local elections -- despite the presidential results not having been released.

"The judge found it not just illegal but grossly unreasonable to order a recount before the result is out. The law is clear about when the recount is done. A candidate requests for a recount within 48 hours after the result has been declared," MDC lawyer Selby Hwacha said.

The High Court is also considering a separate application by the MDC for a court order forcing the ZEC to release the presidential results. A ruling in that case is expected on Monday.

Accepting a recount would be "accepting rigged results," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Reuters news agency.

"They had custody of the ballot boxes for two weeks and they must have stuffed them with their votes."

ZEC chairman George Chiweshe said the results from 22 districts had been disputed by the ruling Zanu-PF party, while the MDC contested the count in one constituency.