Hopes that Zimbabwe's neighbours would act to end its deepening crisis were dashed this morning when an all-night summit ended with a statement failing to acknowledge an emergency and calling only for the immediate release of election results.

Even that call looked toothless as Zimbabwe announced there would be a recount of results in 23 constituencies, 22 of them at the demand of Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF Party.

Leaders of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community talked long through the night in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, to try to reach agreement on what they could do about the election impasse in Zimbabwe.

Mr Mugabe's eleventh-hour withdrawal from the summit had raised hopes among the contingent from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change that their voices would be better heard in his absence. But the surprise arrival in Harare of Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, only hours before the summit, meant that Mr Mugabe's case was well heard before talks in Lusaka began.

Western diplomats, who were instrumental in setting up the summit, were appalled to hear Mr Mbeki announce that there was "no crisis in Zimbabwe" after his meeting with Mr Mugabe — a sentiment echoed later by Zambia, previously the strongest Mugabe critic in the region.

Mr Mugabe reportedly voiced outrage over the calling of the summit and the invitation extended to Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, who claims to have won the presidential vote outright.

Two weeks after the vote, no official presidential results have been announced despite the figures having been published on the walls of polling stations just hours after polls closed.

Parliamentary results handed a majority to the Opposition but that looked under threat with the acceptance of Zanu PF's demand for recounts in 22 constituencies, enough to overturn its lead.

The MDC this morning condemned the recount and said it would challenge it in court. An earlier petition demanding the release of presidential results is to be ruled on tomorrow, but with the presiding judge under increasing pressure, hopes of a resolution were not high.

The Election Commission announced that recounts of parliamentary and presidential results would take place next Saturday, dragging out the impasse for another week.

Reports of an orchestrated campaign of violence against opposition supporters — especially in rural areas, where the ruling party lost for the first time — have fuelled suspicions that Mr Mugabe is using delays to buy time and cow opponents before a second-round run-off.

The SADC statement said this morning that any second round must be held in secure conditions and promised to send an observer team. That is cold comfort to the Opposition, who have seen three elections stolen from them under the nose of African observers reluctant to criticise an elder statesmen still viewed as a liberation hero.

Britain is pushing for Western observers to be allowed to monitor a second election, mulling a move to the United Nations Security Council if conditions do not improve. Mr Mugabe's ruinous reign has won him few friends outside Africa and no big power is expected to stick its neck out to defend him.

In Lusaka, African leaders also held talks with Simba Makoni, the Zanu PF defector who ran as an independent in the elections, coming third. South Africa, among others, is known to be keen on Mr.Makoni's candidacy, preferring him to Mr Tvsangirai, who had earned their unease because of his high-profile embrace of white Zimbabwean politicians and business leaders.

Mr Makoni, whose liberation credentials match those of Mr Mugabe, is seen as an ideal leader of a future unity government while still keeping Zanu PF in power. But such a solution still depends on Mr Mugabe's giving up the reins, which he appeared no closer to doing today.

Mr Mugabe was said to have been willing to concede and leave the country the week before last, but was prevented from doing so by military leaders who fear that they would be left without protection from prosecution for war crimes, human rights abuses, corruption and embezzlement.

Zimbabwe's crashing economy, with inflation now estimated at well over 300,000 per cent, has provided abundant opportunities for self-enrichment, with military and political leaders plundering foreign exchange reserves and trading US and Zimbabwe dollars against each other for vast profit.

A campaign of violence against the Opposition is being led by selected military leaders commanding cells of so-called war veterans and youth militia, Mr Mugabe's long-time shock troops. Police and intelligence officers are now reportedly being corralled into the intimidation efforts.

The Opposition has called the situation a "de facto coup", with the country now effectively controlled by the military. There is speculation too that Mr Mugabe may have been prevented from attending Lusaka for fear he would not return.

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