Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe held talks with visiting South African leader Thabo Mbeki on Zimbabwe's election crisis ahead of a possible run-off that has raised fears of more violence.

Mbeki visited the country as a mediator on behalf of the Southern African Development Community.

However, Sanyikso Ndlovu, Zimbabwean Minister of Information, gave no information after their four-hour meeting in Mugabe's residence.

"It is a tradition as colleagues, brothers, we brief each other to keep each other informed of the developments and I cannot at the moment reveal the substance of the discussions and the peripherals because that is prerogative of the two presidents."

The Zimbabwean opposition party, The Movement For Democratic Change, said they would not meet with Thabo Mbeki, whom they want to be replaced as mediator as the country plunges into deeper political crisis.

Mugabe and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have been in a tense political standoff, with the latter insisting that he has won the March 29 presidential elections outright in the country.

The electoral commission said last week that Tsvangirai had won the most votes but failed to win the simple majority.