Some of the areas that have been identified as having been assisted by the defense forces are Gokwe North, Kariba and Chiredzi South, which are remote and have poor road networks. The helicopters were also dispatched to Mount Darwin, which also has poor communication network as the place received too much rains.

The deputy chief elections officer said from preliminary statistics, there was a low voter turnout in Bulawayo, however other urban centers had a huge turnout, in particular Harare South parliamentary constituency.

Meanwhile, Silaigwana revealed that the commission had accredited 1,161 local observers and 599 foreign ones. He said the commission was yet to get reports of the conduct of the elections from the observers.

Zimbabwe held the presidential run-off election on Friday as scheduled despite opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the race.

Tsvangirai, who had been expected to pit against ruling ZANU- PF candidate and incumbent President Robert Mugabe in the run-off, withdrew from the election on Sunday, citing various reasons, including political violences. Tsvangirai on Tuesday submitted a withdrawal letter to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, formally quitting from the race.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said the withdrawal was of no legal effect because it was filed too late.

Tsvangirai received 47.9 percent of the votes in the first round of election held on March 29, followed by President Robert Mugabe's 43.2 percent.

An outright winner needs to obtain an absolute majority of the votes, otherwise a run-off needs to be held, according to Zimbabwe's law.

Tsvangirai, who in 1999 founded the Movement for Democratic Changes (MDC), is taking refuge in the Dutch embassy, saying he feared for his safety.

Incumbent President Mugabe, 84, who has been the head of state since the southern African country gained independence in 1980, accused Tsvangirai of being a puppet used by Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler Britain and its allies, who Mugabe said are angered by Zimbabwe's land reform program..

The run-off was held as Zimbabwe is facing serious economic challenges including a 2 million percent inflation and shortage of basic goods including bread.

Western powers and some African countries expressed concern and urged Zimbabwe to postpone the run-off.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Chairperson Justice George Chiweshe assured that the election would be free and fair.

Observers from many countries and organizations, including the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) monitored the election. SADC alone had more than 400 election observers in the country during the election.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2008)