Four weeks after March 29 presidential and general elections, Zimbabweans still do not know who won the presidential ballot, and the outcome of the parliamentary elections hangs in the balance with recounts under way in 23 constituencies.
The ruling party is accused of mounting a violent crackdown on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and its supporters, including beatings, torture and murder and the internal displacement of thousands of people.
The crisis deepened further on Friday as police raided MDC headquarters and the offices of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a non-governmental organization which has been a credible alternative source of information in an environment where the official Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has failed to deliver results.
The MDC's diplomatic offensive has focused international attention on the crisis and pressured Harare to release the election results – to date, however, in vain.
For an assessment of this complex situation, VOA reporter Blessing Zulu turned to analysts Brian Kagoro in Nairobi and Glen Mpani in Cape Town, South Africa.
Kagoro said the delay in releasing results looks like a crisis management strategy on the part of the ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe. Mpani said the strategy will ultimately fail as Zimbabweans after 28 years want Mr. Mugabe to go.