By Shapi Shacinda

LUSAKA, April 12 (Reuters) - Southern African leaders meet on Saturday in an attempt to break the political impasse over Zimbabwe's disputed elections and prevent the crisis from turning violent.

But hopes the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Lusaka will lead to a breakthrough appear slim in the face of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's absence and the group's many failures to persuade his government to reform.

Mugabe, still seen as a liberation hero in much of Africa, bristles at criticism and dismisses most detractors as puppets of former colonial power Britain and the United States.

Although the 84-year-old leader is more deferential to his African neighbours, he has shown no sign of giving in to those urging him to respect the results of the March 29 elections.

The presidential election result has still not been published. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change won the parliamentary election and says it won the presidential poll. It has gone to court to force officials to release those results.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he could not understand why it was taking so long to announce the results and that the "international community's patience with the regime is wearing thin".

"The Zimbabwean people have demonstrated their commitment to democracy," Brown said in a statement. "We, and the leaders of the region, strongly share this commitment."

The political statemate in Zimbabwe prompted Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to call the summit, earning a rebuke from Mugabe, who decided not to attend. It is unclear whether MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai will be there.

HOSTILITY

A senior Zimbabwean official reinforced the government's hostility to the meeting.

"We believe this meeting really is not necessary because Zimbabwe has made it quite clear that they are going to announce the results," Joey Bimha, Zimbabwe's foreign affairs permanent secretary, was quoted as saying by Zimbabwean state television.

The summit appears the best chance to dissuade Mugabe from launching another crackdown on the opposition. Dozens of MDC activists and supporters were beaten by police last year in an aborted anti-government protest in the capital Harare.

Fears of a repeat of the violence have risen in the past two weeks whilethe MDC and Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF accuse each other of preparing for street battles.

Zimbabwean police have banned all political rallies, including one planned by the MDC for Sunday. The opposition has called for an indefinite general strike to begin next Tuesday in the economically devastated nation.

An estimated one-quarter of Zimbabwe's population have fled the crisis, which is highlighted by inflation of more than 100,000 percent and 80 percent unemployment.

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday that Zimbabwe "now stands on the brink".

"SADC must insist that a peaceful and just solution be found to resolve the political crisis in Zimbabwe," he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also expressed concern that the crisis in Zimbabwe would get worse without prompt action, a U.N. spokeswoman said.

There are nagging doubts, if not outright pessimism, that SADC will be able to get tough on Mugabe.

The 14-nation group has long been seen as toothless in its response to Zimbabwe's political and economic problems.

SADC last year delegated South African President Thabo Mbeki to oversee negotiations between Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF and the MDC in an effort to reach a political agreement that would ensure a fair and free election.

The talks failed, prompting a wave of criticism of SADC and Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" tactics. (Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Stella Mapenzauswa, Cris Chinaka and Muchena Zigomo; writing by Paul Simao; Editing by Giles Elgood)

AlertNet news is provided by