And the winner of Zimbabwe's election is … Robert Mugabe (no prizes for guessing that one)

ROBERT Mugabe, who lost a presidential election heavily rigged in his favour 13 weeks ago, yesterday had himself installed as Zimbabwe's head of state for a sixth time before flying off to an African Union summit intent on defying any of his peers to denounce him.

The Mugabe-appointed Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said the 84-year-old incumbent won Friday's run-off presidential election, in which he was the only candidate, with 85.51 per cent of the vote.

It took ZEC five weeks to announce the results of the first round of presidential elections in March, which Mr Tsvangirai won. This time, it took less than 48 hours.

Figures published by the ZEC showed Mr Mugabe with 2,150,269 votes compared to 233,000 for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the election a week ago. There were 131,481 spoiled ballots.

A disputed 29 March presidential election was won by Mr Tsvangirai, who received 47.9 per cent of the national vote against Mr Mugabe's 43.2 per cent, according to the ZEC.

However, Mr Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said the challenger had won more than 50 per cent of the vote, enough to have had him installed as Zimbabwe's new president without the necessity of a run-off.

Mr Tsvangirai withdrew from the run-off last week, arguing the decision was unavoidable in order to save his supporters from further suffering after more than 100 were killed when Mr Mugabe launched a reign of terror against his own citizens by security forces.

Mr Mugabe has already been in power for 28 years, and will now reign until he is in his 90th year. He was sworn in at a ceremony at State House, his official residence and headquarters in Harare, and was greeted with a 21-gun salute and a flypast of Chinese-made air force jets.

Mr Tsvangirai was invited to the swearing-in ceremony as a "gesture of engagement", but rejected it as "meaningless". An MDC spokesman said Mr Mugabe's self-appointment, following his defeat on 29 March, was an "absolute joke" and an act of desperation.

Earlier, in a series of interviews, Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Archbishop of Cape Town, who was one of the foremost opponents of apartheid in South Africa, urged the international community to intervene to restore peace in Zimbabwe – by force, if necessary.

Archbishop Tutu said the African Union's 53 heads of state, who today begin their annual summit in Egypt at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, should refuse to recognise Mr Mugabe as Zimbabwe's legitimate president.

"If you were to have a unanimous voice, saying clearly to Mr Mugabe, 'You are illegitimate and we will not recognise your administration in any shape or form' then I think that would be a very, very powerful signal and would really strengthen the hand of the international community," said the archbishop.

In Sharm El Sheikh last night, as AU officials awaited Mr Mugabe's arrival, the organisation's peace and security chief played down prospects of sending military peacekeepers into Zimbabwe.

"It's not easy to send a peacekeeping mission anywhere, and it's usually the result of negotiations, of a peace plan to be implemented," Ramtane Lamamra said. "I am not sure that the situation in Zimbabwe corresponds to that particular situation."

Zimbabwe and Mr Mugabe's election "victory" are sure to overshadow the official summit themes concerning water and sanitation.

The African Union – Mugabe's opponents and allies

ANGOLA

The most surprising criticism of Mugabe came from the Angolan president, Jose Dos Santos, who has been one of Mugabe's staunchest allies. In a message sent to Mugabe yesterday, Dos Santos said he welcomed the Zimbabwean's statement that he is open to negotiations with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

BOTSWANA

Botswana's president, Seretse Ian Khama, is the only African leader so far to make an official protest against Robert Mugabe's reign of terror. Botswana has seen its population of fewer than two million invaded by 800,000 Zimbabwean refugees. Mr Khama said he was "deeply disturbed" by Mugabe's politically-motivated arrests.

KENYA

Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga has called on the international community to demand that Mugabe steps down from power, describing the run-off vote as a "shame to Africa".

MOZAMBIQUE

The government of Mozambique has called for renewed dialogue between Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to solve the crisis. "We lament the loss of human lives (in the period before the first election on 29 March and before the uncontested run-off on 27 June], and hope that the injured make a speedy recovery," a statement read.

NAMIBIA

Namibia's Swapo government has been an unwavering ally of Robert Mugabe, and last week the country's foreign minister, Marco Hausiku, described reports of electoral violence in Zimbabwe as "unverified rumours". The "Swapo Elders Council," comprising top party members, issued a statement blaming western countries for the crisis and urged Zimbabwean citizens to vote for Mugabe in the run-off.

TANZANIA

The handling of the Zimbabwe crisis by Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, current chairman of the 53-member African Union (AU), has been severely criticised by Amnesty International. In a statement, Amnesty said Mr Kikwete's silence on Zimbabwe has been "deafening and is contrary to its own principles of respect for human rights and the rule of law".

ZAMBIA

Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa has said: "What is happening in Zimbabwe is a matter of serious embarrassment to all of us."