President Mugabe has been Zimbabwe's President since independence in 1980

The first official indication of the result of Saturday's election in Zimbabwe says that neither President Robert Mugabe nor his main challenger gained 50% of the vote. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he won the poll but denies discussing Mr Mugabe's departure. From Harare, Ian Pannell reports:

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There is an expectation that the final tally in the parliamentary election will be announced today, together with the result of the Presidential race. State media has reported there is no clear winner. But even if it goes to a second round, unless Mr Mugabe has more votes than his two closest rivals, it seems unlikely he could win a free and fair second round vote.

People are becoming increasingly impatient, but after years of economic misery they are prepared to wait a few more hours to learn the fate of Zimbabwe.

Ian Pannell, BBC News, Harare

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went to the polls
voted in the elections

confusion
when people do not know or understand what is happening

to stand down
to stop being President

are underway
are happening, or taking place now

expectation
when you hope and believe that something good will happen

the final tally
when all the votes have been counted and officially announced to the public

Presidential race
competition for the position of President that is held through an election

there is no clear winner
no candidate has won the support of more than half of the voters

increasingly impatient
less and less prepared to wait

economic misery
the economy has been in a very poor state that causes many people in the country to suffer

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