President Mbeki, derided in South Africa and abroad for his policy on Zimbabwe, plans to use the decision to hold a presidential run-off there to revive his battered diplomacy and push for a regional settlement to the crisis.

On Friday advisers to Mr Mbeki, the regional mediator for Zimbabwe, held five hours of talks with President Mugabe that are assumed to have focused on mechanisms to ensure that the guidelines of the Southern African Development Community are applied in the second round.

Mr Mbeki’s critics concede that his success in obtaining an agreement to have results from the first round posted outside every polling station, and to have representatives from all parties inside the stations, made rigging more difficult than in previous polls. Obtaining similar agreements for a second round, along with the presence of international observers and possibly a UN role, is a key demand of the Zimbabwean Opposition. “The country is bankrupt and has no money to finance a second round. Mr Mbeki may be able to use that as a carrot to win some concessions,” Buchizya Mseteka, a Zambian political analyst, said.

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, said on Saturday that he would contest a run-off. He plans to return to the country today, having left in March a few days after the first round.

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