HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP):

Things were bad even before Zimbabwe's presidential election, with inflation so high workers sometimes could not afford the bus fare to get to their jobs.

Now, government departments and factories report workers are not coming because of uncertainty about the future and fear of unrest. It has been 12 days since the vote, with no word on who won, leaving an entire country wondering who is running things while the opposition and President Robert Mugabe's regime trade accusations over who is to blame for the political turmoil.

Closure needed

"We cannot keep our production lines going in this atmosphere. We need some sort of closure on the elections. Thirty per cent of our employees are staying home,'' said one Harare executive, who asked not to be identified out of fear of official reprisals.

He said normal contacts between businesses and government trade and industry officials had come to a standstill.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the March 29 vote outright. Projections from independent observers put Tsvangirai ahead, but not far enough to avoid a run-off, leading to speculation Mugabe is delaying the release of results so he can orchestrate a second-round victory.