The Zimbabwe high court Monday rejected an opposition bid to force the release of presidential election results in a judgment that could plunge the country into a general strike. The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change had sought to force the release of the result of the March 29 presidential election. Its leader Morgan Tsvangirai has already claimed victory over President Robert Mugabe. But the court turned down the MDC petition for the Zimbabwe electoral commission to immediately declare the result. “The matter has been dismissed with costs,” Justice Tendai Uchena said in his ruling. The MDC has announced plans to stage a general strike Tuesday if results are not released by then. Southern African leaders who met in Zambia over the weekend to discuss the impasse merely called for the results to be announced “expeditiously”, saying the matter should be decided by the courts and the electoral commission. The opposition says it has no faith in the commission after it ordered a partial recount of results. The MDC has also mounted a legal challenge to the recount order, which in theory could lead to Mugabe's Zimbabwe Africa National Union - Patriotic Front party regaining control of parliament. __
