Mbeki's Zimbabwe stance defended

President Thabo Mbeki

President Thabo Mbeki must remain optimistic if mediation in Zimbabwe is to succeed. Experts say Mbeki is in a sensitive position and cannot be seen to be taking sides.

"Due to constraints placed on Mbeki as a mediator, he is highly unlikely to make comments that will compromise his attempts to bring about change in Zimbabwe," says Institute for Security Studies spokesperson, Chris Maroleng.

Mbeki faces ongoing criticism for failing to pronounce the situation in Zimbabwe as a crisis. In an about turn, the ANC has given Mbeki's neutral approach the thumbs up.

The mediation team in Zimbabwe believes there is no need to panic as yet. It says aggrieved parties have several legal instruments at their disposal.

Mugabe legally president
For now there is no leadership vacuum - the Constitution legitimises Robert Mugabe's interim presidency.

While South Africa believes there is no crisis, it understands the heightened anxiety. "The anxiety about the delay is certainly legitimate and it is a shared anxiety," says South Africa's Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi.

Mufamadi says that the Southern African Development Community is monitoring the situation closely, and the regional body will get involved in the event of a re-run.