Winners and losers

Tsvangirai is congratulated by supporters

Among the individual winners and losers, several stand out, especially Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, who failed to win a seat despite his party's strong showing.

However no fewer than seven ministers lost their seats, including the Justice Minister, Emmerson Munangagwa, considered a possible heir apparent to President Mugabe.

The controversial war veterans' leader, Chenjerai Hunzvi, was elected to parliament - and so was one of his critics, the white farmer Roy Bennett.

Margaret Dongo, one of only three opposition MPs in the outgoing parliament, lost her seat - but to another opposition candidate.

Ministers out, Hunzvi in

Mr Tsvangirai missed a seat by 2,534 votes. He was standing Buhera North, a rural constituency in the Zanu-PF heartland - a decision he says he does not regret.

The most prominent government casualty, Mr Munangagwa, was crushed by a margin of 2-1 in a rural district by an opponent who had gone into hiding after being attacked by ruling party militants.

The other contender to succeed Mr Mugabe, Sidney Sekeremayi, held his seat by just 63 votes.

Hunzvi , veterans' leader, won his first seat in parliament

The Home Affairs Minister, Dumiso Dabengwa, received less than 4,000 of the more than 24,000 votes cast in his district in the southwestern city of Bulawayo - where all seats went to the MDC.

Tourism Minister Simon Kaya-Moyo and Sikhanyiso Ndhlovu, the Deputy Minister for Higher Education, were also among the government casualties.

But government survivors include Kumbirai Kangai, who is currently suspended from his post, as lands and agriculture minister, on corruption charges.

Margaret Dongo, whose house was attacked, lost her seat

President Mugabe may choose to use the 30 parliamentary seats at his discretion to restore defeated ministers to parliament.

He can take comfort from the fact that Mr Hunzvi, leader of the war veterans who spearheaded the invasion of more than 1,500 white-owned commercial farms with government support, won a seat for the first time by a comfortable margin in a farming area.

Opposition record

But one of Mr Hunzvi's targets, Roy Bennett, a white farmer and opposition candidate temporarily forced off his property after it was overrun by ruling party militants, won a strong victory in his Chimanimani district near the Mozambican border.

Farmer Roy Bennett won a seat after being forced off his land

The prominent white human rights lawyer, David Coltart, was also elected to parliament for the opposition.

Margaret Dongo of the Zimbabwe Union of Democrats lost her seat in Harare to the MDC, securing only 951 votes to the MDC candidate's 12,430.

But another of the three opposition MPs in the outgoing parliament retained his seat, securing parliamentary representation for a third political party, Zanu-Ndonga, led by the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole.

Zanu-Ndgonga's vice-president, Wilson Khumbula, fought off a strong challenge from a young Zanu-PF businessman.

In Bulawayo, the MDC's secretary-general, Welshman Ncube, trounced his Zanu-PF opponent by 21,100 votes to 2,864.