Harare: Zimbabwe's opposition claimed victory today over Robert Mugabe in presidential elections, as official results showed the veteran leader's ruling party had lost its parliamentary majority.

As state media predicted a run-off between Mugabe and his arch rival Morgan Tsvangirai, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition said its own calculations showed party leader Tsvangirai had passed the 50 per cent threshold for outright victory.

But the MDC's pre-emptive announcement, which came before any declaration by the official electoral commission on the presidential contest, was swiftly condemned by the Mugabe government.

Diplomatic sources meanwhile said there were intensive behind-the-scenes efforts to persuade Mugabe, who has overseen the ex-British colony's decline from regional model to economic basketcase, to depart the scene peacefully.

Frustrated at the slow work of the electoral commission since March 29 joint polls, the MDC's secretary-general Tendai Biti told a press conference Tsvangirai had won 50.2 per cent of votes against 43.8 percent for Mugabe.

"Put simply he has won this election ... Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the next president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, without a run-off."

Biti said the government was trying to massage the results and pointed to a front-page story in today's Herald newspaper that said there was now likely to be a run-off as neither man had a clear majority.

Source : PTI