London  - The presidential vote results announced by Zimbabwe's Election Commission "lack credibility," the British government said Friday.

A runoff vote between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai would "not be fair unless international monitors were present," a statement released by the Foreign Office in London said.

The commission said that while Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai had beaten Mugabe, he had won only 47.9 per cent of the vote - not the 50 per cent required for an outright win. Mugabe had won 43.2 per cent. (dpa)