THE first results from an election recount in Zimbabwe under way showed President Robert Mugabe’s party had won an additional parliamentary seat, state media reported yesterday.

    Election officials began recounting ballots in 23 districts over the weekend, most of them won by the opposition. The recount could prove pivotal for the ruling party, which lost control of parliament by a handful of seats for the first time ever.

    The state-run Herald newspaper also suggested that a government of national unity led by Mugabe could end Zimbabwe’s deepening political and economic crisis — a departure from its regular stance of accusing the opposition of manipulating the vote.

    The proposal in a newspaper considered a government mouthpiece comes as the United States’ top diplomat for Africa heads to southern Africa for talks with regional leaders on Zimbabwe’s postelection crisis.

    No presidential results have been released from the March 29 election, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s party insists it won outright. The Movement for Democratic Change has called the government’s refusal to release the results part of a ploy to steal the vote.

    Tsvangirai’s party rejected earlier calls by independent civic groups for an alliance with Mugabe to break the political deadlock.

    (SD-Agencies)