Zimbabwe strike flops

HARARE (Reuters) - An opposition general strike to demand the release of Zimbabwe's delayed election result flopped on Tuesday and the ruling party in neighboring South Africa called the situation "dire".

Fears of a crackdown by President Robert Mugabe's government and the desperate need of many Zimbabweans to make enough money to survive in a collapsing economy undermined the strike.

It was the second setback in two days for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) -- which says it has won the election -- after a High Court judge on Monday refused to order the release of the presidential result.

But calls to announce the outcome of the March 29 vote won powerful backing from South Africa's ruling African National Congress, which said there should be no further delay.

A statement from the ANC's executive National Working Committee said the situation was "dire, with negative consequences" for all of southern Africa.

The prolonged uncertainty over events in Zimbabwe hit South Africa's rand currency on Tuesday, which fell to its lowest level in five days.

"The comments coming out with regards to the ANC and Zimbabwe ... I think that's one of the reasons it has weakened. The uncertainty of Zimbabwe is definitely around," a trader said. South Africa's power crisis also hurt the currency.

There have been increasing signs in the ANC of impatience with President Thabo Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe since he was replaced as party leader by Jacob Zuma last year.

Mbeki, who led unsuccessful mediation by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) last year, said before a summit of the group last weekend there was no post-election crisis in Zimbabwe.

The ANC committee said Mbeki "needs to observe a neutral position" in his role as mediator.

Reflecting international concern, the White House said U.S. President George W. Bush had raised Zimbabwe's post-election crisis with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday, saying it had dragged on too long and should be resolved peacefully.

ZANU-PF lost control of parliament for the first time in a parallel vote on March 29, and the MDC accuses Mugabe of trying to buy time to organize a violent response to his biggest setback since coming to power in 1980.

BUS BURNED

Police said they arrested 30 MDC supporters on Tuesday for blocking roads, attacking vehicles and coercing people not to turn up for work. They also said two buses were attacked on the outskirts of Harare. One was burned and another stoned but there were no serious injuries.

The MDC's strike call was unheeded in many places.

"We employ ourselves here, any day's work we lose hits our pockets," said Patrick Daka, who runs a brick-making venture along with four others in a southern industrial area of Harare.

Asked about the failure of many workers to observe the call, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said: "That is understandable considering the ruthlessness of the regime."

The MDC has declared victory in the presidential election and demanded that Mugabe step down to make way for its leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party says Tsvangirai did not win an absolute majority and a runoff will be necessary, although no official results have been released.

Tsvangirai told South Africa's eTV a run-off would be a "futile exercise" unless international observers ensured a free and fair vote.

"We will not be part of it (a run-off) ... unless a new electoral environment is assured, with the participation of SADC, with the participation of the international community, with the confidence of Zimbabweans to go through another electoral process," he said in an interview.

The ANC statement said holding a run-off "when the election results are not known would be undemocratic and unprecedented".

A court in Harare on Tuesday delayed until Wednesday a hearing on the MDC's attempt to block a recount of votes in 23 constituencies ordered by electoral authorities.

Banks, shops and offices in central Harare were open as many workers ignored the call for an indefinite stoppage.

"We are open here because we don't want to attract attention to ourselves. Some workers have come and others have not," said one shop floor supervisor at a tobacco processing firm, who declined to be named.

"I think there is general consensus that strikes don't work, the government just ignores you and managers get into trouble."

At a market in Tafara township, east of Harare, Mabel Chimanga, who sells vegetables, told Reuters: "We want to know the results but if I don't come here then my children are the ones who will suffer because I can't buy them food."

Soldiers and police fanned out across Zimbabwe early in the day before the strike and set up checkpoints but security eased later when the stoppage flopped. The threat of a tough security response has undermined previous calls for protests.

Police beat dozens of MDC members and supporters, including Tsvangirai, during an aborted 2007 anti-government protest. A general strike last year to protest against low wages and living conditions also collapsed.

(Additional reporting by Muchena Zigomo, Nelson Banya, Cris Chinaka; Phumza Macanda in Johannesburg; Writing by Barry Moody; Editing by Caroline Drees)