SADC leaders urge rapid Zim poll results

Zambian Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande told reporters that the 13-hour summit in Lusaka had also called on President Robert Mugabe to ensure that a possible run-off vote against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is held "in a secure environment".

The 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) "urged the electoral authorities in Zimbabwe that verification and release of results are expeditiously done in accordance with the due process of law," said Pande. The summit ran almost 10 hours over schedule and ended at about 5am local time. A senior Zambian official said earlier the delay was caused by disagreement among leaders over whether the post-election impasse in Zimbabwe should be called a crisis.