By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE, April 20 (Reuters) - A partial recount of Zimbabwe's disputed March 29 election could take longer than the three days originally planned, an official said on Sunday, dragging out a political stalemate that has raised fears of violence.

The recount in 23 of 210 constituencies, which began on Saturday, could overturn the results of the parliamentary election, which showed President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF losing its majority to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for the first time.

"There were some delays yesterday and I am not sure the results will be available after three days as initially indicated. It might be more than that," said Utoile Silaigwana, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's deputy chief election officer.

"But what I can confirm is that the process started smoothly today. But again, I cannot say how many polling stations have been counted. That information could be available by end of today," he said.

The MDC says it won the elections fair and square, and says the recount is illegal. The party said on Saturday it will reject the recount's results. Results of a parallel presidential ballot on March 29 have not been released, but MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he won.

The delay in announcing results has given rise to opposition fears the recount could be a government ploy to steal the election.

The MDC has accused Mugabe, a former guerrilla commander, of unleashing loyal militias to help him rig victory in a probable runoff and allowing veterans of the independence war to invade some farms, echoing a wave of land invasions that began in 2000.

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Opponents say Mugabe, 84, has wrecked his once-prosperous country, where the collapse of the economy and inflation of about 165,000 percent have led to chronic shortages of water, food and fuel, and 80 percent unemployment.

ZANU-PF triggered the recount after it accused election officials of taking bribes to undercount votes for Mugabe and his ruling party and committing other electoral fraud. Several election officials have been arrested.

Harare's High Court rejected an MDC application to block the recount on Friday. The court previously denied its request to force authorities to release the presidential election result.

African reaction to the post-election crisis has been muted, and the United States has urged African states to take more action to end the deadlock. Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who helped clinch a power-sharing deal to end a post-election crisis in Kenya, has issued a similar call.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he would discuss Zimbabwe with African leaders at a U.N. trade and development conference in Ghana which starts on Sunday. (Additional reporting by Cris Chinaka; Writing by Caroline Drees; Editing by Charles Dick)

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