Mugabe May Concede a First-Round Loss

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's ruling party signaled yesterday night that it was willing to accept that Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, came first in the country's presidential election.

But President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party insisted that, contrary to claims by the Movement for Democratic Change, Mr. Tsvangirai fell short of the absolute majority required for victory.

More than a month after the poll, the Zimbabwe Election Commission still has not announced the presidential results, and verification is only due to start today. Nonetheless senior government sources said that Mr. Tsvangirai took 47%, with Mr. Mugabe second on 43%. The ruling party's willingness to concede a first-round lead to Mr. Tsvangirai may be a sign that it is now confident of winning a second round, having delayed the results and launched a campaign of violence against opposition supporters. The MDC said yesterday night that 20 of its members had been killed.