Tsvangirai meets SA minister
07/04/2008 17:16  - (SA)  

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Zanu-PF 'leads' apartheid drive Zim exiles protest in Pretoria Tsvangirai in SA for private talks Zim 'is on a razor's edge' Recounting Zim votes 'illegal'

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai met on Monday with a South African minister on his first foreign trip since March 29 presidential polls he claims to have won, a witness said.

Tsvangirai had lunch in Johannesburg with Local Government Minister Sydney Mufumadi, who is a member of SA President Thabo Mbeki's negotiating team on Zimbabwe, the witness told AFP.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was cagey about the visit, refusing to explain its purpose and only confirming that the opposition was holding private meetings.

"He is attending private meetings and going back this evening," Roy Bennett, an MDC spokesperson, told AFP, although a contradictory report said Tsvangirai planned to travel on to another unnamed African country.

The visit by Tsvangirai, who has declared himself the outright victor of last week's presidential poll, comes as a Harare court postponed until Tuesday his party's legal bid to force the official declaration of the poll results.

The ruling Zanu-PF says there is no clear winner and has endorsed President Robert Mugabe to run a possible second-round vote as well as demanding a complete recount of the original vote.

Tsvangirai's MDC won control of the country's parliament in simultaneous legislative elections, but Zanu-PF is contesting enough seats to potentially overturn that result.

In South Africa, some 200 exiled Zimbabweans gathered outside the government offices in central Pretoria demanding the immediate release of the results.

"We want an urgent release of the election results. We cannot wait any longer," Simon Mudekwa, head of the anti-Mugabe Zimbabwe Revolutionary Movement, told Sapa news agency.

South Africa's foreign ministry said it was not aware of any official engagements lined up for Tsvangirai.

"People from Zimbabwe can come over at any time. It does not mean they are here for official engagements," spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.

Mbeki is currently out of the country, on his way to India after attending a weekend summit in Britain where he described the situation in Zimbabwe as "manageable".

"I think there is time to wait, let's see the outcome of the election results," Mbeki said on the sidelines of the summit.

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