Zimbabwe's main opposition said on Sunday demands by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party for a recount of presidential election results were illegal and denied approaching ZANU-PF for a unity government.

"The (Electoral) Act says that you ask for a recount within 48 hours of the counting. Counting takes place at polling stations so it's within 48 hours of that," said Tendai Biti, secretary general of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

"Legally they have no right to ask for a recount, they have absolutely no footing to ask for a recount so what they are trying to do is illegal. He also denied reports his party had approached ZANU-PF to form a unity government.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.