June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Foreign ministers from more than 40 African governments meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, have not reached consensus on whether to recognize Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe as president when the 84-year-old leader arrives to meet heads of state at the African Union summit scheduled to open today.

Mugabe was sworn in yesterday as Zimbabwe's president after the country's electoral commission announced that he had won a June 27 runoff election with 85.5 percent of the vote. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the runoff, citing a widespread state-sponsored campaign of violence and intimidation of opposition supporters.

Tanzanian foreign minister Bernard Membe, the current president of the African Union's council of foreign ministers, said ``I don't know'' whether he would greet Mugabe as president of the country.

``I cannot answer that question,'' Membe said. ``The question is for the people of Zimbabwe. It will not be this summit's business to choose the titles of leaders. It is the business of this summit to see what we are going to do for the suffering people of Zimbabwe.''

Zimbabweans voted in ``fear and trepidation'' in the June 27 poll, said Marwick Khumalo, head of the Pan-African Parliament observer team. A second observer team, from the 14-nation South African Development Community, reported that the election did not reflect the will of the people, Reuters reported.

African leaders are expected to press Mugabe to form an interim unity government with Tsvangirai today when the 84-year- old president arrives in Egypt for the summit. Tsvangirai has offered Mugabe a ceremonial post in a unity government.

Appeared Open to Plan

During his inauguration speech yesterday, Mugabe appeared open to such a plan, similar to that which ended Kenya's political crisis this year. ``It is my hope that sooner rather than later, we shall as diverse political parties hold consultations towards such serious dialogue as to minimize our differences and enhance the area of unity and cooperation,'' he said.

U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday called for the United Nations to institute arms sanctions and a travel ban on Mugabe and his top lieutenants, and has termed the election a ``sham.'' At least 80 people have been killed and as many as 200,000 forced from their homes after militias and armed youth loyal to Mugabe's Zanu-PF party launched a campaign of intimidation, beatings, and torture ahead of the run-off elections.

Peacekeeping Force

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu have both expressed support for an international peacekeeping force for Zimbabwe to stem the violence. South African President Thabo Mbeki, the SADC-appointed mediator for Zimbabwe, has failed to condemn Mugabe's actions, a number of African human rights groups called for the appointment of a new mediator such as former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

That call has been met with skepticism by some African leaders. Mahmoud Youssouf, foreign minister of Djibouti, speaking in Sharm el-Sheikh on the eve of the AU summit, played down the need for sanctions and intervention. ``No sanctions,'' he said. ``We don't need an intervention force. We need to help Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is at the edge of civil war.''

``Basically, as a matter of principle we don't think sanctions have been helpful in any part of the world,'' said Ramtane Lamamra, the AU's peace and security commissioner.

Lamamra said it was still too early discuss a possible intervention force for Zimbabwe. ``The political process is going to continue,'' he said.

Claimed Victory

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change claimed victory in a first round of voting March 29 with 50.2 percent of the vote. After a 32-day delay, Zimbabwe's electoral board announced that Tsvangirai had won 47.9 percent of the vote to Mugabe's 43.2 percent, triggering the runoff. In contrast, the electoral board tabulated Mugabe's sweeping runoff victory in just two days.

In a related development, Zambian President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was taken to a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh after suffering an undisclosed ailment during a New Partnership for African Development meeting before the summit, Egypt's state-run MENA news agency said yesterday.

Mwanawasa, the rotating president of the SADC, had previously called for Zimbabwe's runoff to be postponed because of the violence.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Sharm el-Sheikh via Johannesburg at jmclure@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 29, 2008 17:56 EDT