TIMELINE: Aftermath of Zimbabwe's crucial elections

(Reuters) - Below is a chronology of some of the key developments since Zimbabwe's elections last Saturday.

March 29, 2008 - Voting ends around 7 p.m. (12 p.m. EDT) in presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

March 30 - Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claims victory over President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party based on early results pinned up outside polling stations.

-- Harare residents told to stay indoors and riot police patrol the streets.

March 31 - Electoral commission starts announcing results of parliamentary election. Seats are split evenly between the opposition and ruling party. No presidential results emerge.

-- Observer mission from regional group SADC says elections were free and fair but expresses concerns over results delay. Monitors from South African opposition refuse to sign report.

-- United States, European Union and former colonial power Britain voice concern over delay to vote counting and urge publication of results as quickly as possible.

April 1 - Ruling ZANU-PF party projections obtained by Reuters show opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai would beat Mugabe but not with enough votes to avoid a runoff.

-- MDC says it is on the verge of power after dismissing speculation it is negotiating a managed exit for Mugabe. The government also dismisses reports of talks.

April 2 - MDC says it won presidential and parliamentary elections and calls on Mugabe to concede. ZANU-PF says MDC claims are "wishful" and Mugabe is going nowhere.

-- State-owned newspaper, The Herald, says Tsvangirai and Mugabe will face a run-off as neither will achieve the 51 percent required for an outright win.

-- Latest parliamentary election results show ZANU-PF with 93 seats and the MDC, 91 with five seats going to a breakaway opposition faction. A total of 206 seats were contested.

April 4 - The ZANU-PF party decides Mugabe should contest a runoff vote against opposition leader Tsvangirai if neither wins a majority in the presidential election.

-- ZANU-PF and independent projections show Tsvangirai winning the presidential vote but falling short of the absolute majority needed to avoid a runoff.

-- The MDC says it will ask the High Court to order the immediate release of the results.

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;