"We'll manage to get Mugabe out. Mugabe is being deserted. No one wants to touch Mugabe in the region now. Eventually, we will ease him out," Tsvangirai told Time Magazine.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accuses Mugabe, 84, of prolonging the delay in issuing the results of a March 29 presidential election while he plans a violent response to his biggest defeat since taking power in 1980.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party lost control of parliament for the first time in the election but no results of the parallel presidential vote have been issued.

"This is, in a sense, a de facto military coup. They have rolled out military forces across the whole country, to prepare for a run-off and try to cow the population. It's an attempt to try to create conditions for Mugabe to win," Tsvangirai said.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Friday the ruling party was preparing for a runoff after its tallies showed neither Tsvangirai nor Mugabe won the required absolute majority.

The MDC rejected both a runoff and ZANU-PF attempts to have at least 14 seats recounted in the parliamentary vote. It says Tsvangirai has won and should immediately end Mugabe's 28-year rule.

The regional body SADC, concerned at the increasing possibility of violence because of the election deadlock, has called an emergency summit in Lusaka on Saturday. A Zimbabwe government minister on Thursday confirmed Mugabe would attend.

Tsvangirai said he would try to persuade the regional leaders to put pressure on Mugabe to step down.

SADC has been criticised in the past for failing to pressure Mugabe despite the economic collapse in Zimbabwe, now suffering the world's highest inflation, chronic shortages of food and fuel and a near worthless currency.

SUMMIT

Mwanawasa's summit call came after Jacob Zuma, powerful leader of South Africa's ruling African National Congress, said the poll results must be released, signalling a more robust reaction to the crisis than President Thabo Mbeki who has insisted on "quiet diplomacy" rather than overt pressure.

The ANC called in a statement on Thursday for the results to be released as soon as possible. It said the summit should reinforce SADC guidelines on free and fair elections and contribute to ending the crisis.

The long delay in issuing results has dashed hopes of quick action to turn round a ruined economy that has sent millions of refugees fleeing to neighbouring SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries.

The election deadlock has deepened the country's economic meltdown. The International Monetary Fund forecast this week that the economy would contract by 6.6 percent this year and 6.77 percent in 2009.

The official inflation rate is 100,580 percent but analysts believe the real level is much higher. An independent Zimbabwean newspaper said last week that official figures for February showed inflation at 164,900 percent.

Investors fear that if the Zimbabwean political impasse continues, it could impact on other countries in the region -- especially South Africa, whose rand currency has proven vulnerable to political events in its northern neighbour.

Although the rand benefited last week because of optimism that the Mugabe era might be ending, traders said Zimbabwe was not having any effect now, with all eyes on a central bank interest rate decision on Thursday.

They said negative developments in Zimbabwe were generally discounted by the market but positive news could give the rand some support, although it was not a key driver so far.

Militant independence war veterans and youth militias loyal to Mugabe have this week intensified invasions of mainly white-owned farms.

The opposition says this is part of an intimidation campaign by ZANU-PF ahead of the expected presidential runoff vote.

Trevor Gifford, president of the white Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU), said on Thursday around 70 farms had now been invaded and one farmer had been abducted.