Zimbabwe election worries world leaders

PRETORIA, South Africa, April 17 (UPI) -- Delegates of the U.N. Security Council and African leaders meeting in South Africa have added their concern about the dragged-out election in Zimbabwe.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during the conference in Pretoria he wasn't satisfied with the Southern African Development Community's action so far, EuroNews.net reported Thursday.

"The Zimbabwean authorities and the countries of the region have insisted that these matters are for the region to resolve," Ban said. "But the international community continues to watch and wait for decisive action."

Election authorities have refused to release results of the March 29 Zimbabwean presidential election. The Movement for Democratic Change maintains its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the election outright, beating President Robert Mugabe. Independent monitors said Tsvangirai won the election, but did not get more than 50 percent of the vote to prevent a runoff.

"No one thinks, having seen the results at polling stations, that president Mugabe has won this election, said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "A stolen election would not be a democratic election at all."

Expatriates in Pretoria have asked the United Nations to intervene in Zimbabwe, saying the crisis could lead to violence that would destabilize the region.