When Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders meet in Port-of- Spain today, their first order of business, even before addressing the topic for which they are gathered - crime and security in the region - should be urgently drafted messages to the key political players in Zimbabwe.

They should tell Robert Mugabe, the country's president, that it is important that the electoral commission, as a matter of urgency, issue the remaining results of Zimbabwe's parliamentary and presidential elections.

And like Kofi Annan, the former secretary general of the United Nations, they must make it clear to Mr Mugabe that the outcomes of the poll should be declared "faithfully and accurately".

In other words, Mr Mugabe should be left in no doubt that any attempt to steal the presidency will not be tolerated; if he does he will find no friends in the Caribbean, nor will he be able to count on the sympathy of kith and kin, who remember the better days when he was leader of Zimbabwe's black liberation struggle.

Yet, any message to Zimbabwe calling for political maturity cannot, or ought not to be addressed solely to Mr Mugabe. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), should also be reminded of the dangers of any precipitous action by his party.

Mr Tsvangirai's party, having in the two previous elections believed that the prize was stolen from it, has won most seats in the lower house this time. Indeed, opposition parties, even if by a slim majority, have prised control of the lower house from Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF after 28 years. It appears that a close race is on for the Senate. And Mr Tsvangirai is convinced, at least the MDC's public statements suggest this, that he has edged out Mr Mugabe in the presidential race. They claim that he won 50.3 per cent of the votes.

In the circumstances, should the official count claim otherwise, even if it requires a run-off vote, there is the possibility of turmoil in Zimbabwe. Which is why we urge Caricom, and our own Prime Minister Bruce Golding, to press for restraint. Indeed, the Zimbabweans have, in the example of Kenya, the dangers of attempting to solve political problems with passion rather than reason and dialogue.

We would prefer that the Zimbabweans - in whose struggle against white-minority rule in what was Rhodesia, the Caribbean invested heavily - get it right now, rather than having to invite Mr Annan in as mediator.

An arithmetic gaffe by an MDC official, Tendai Beti, the party's general secretary, may have unwittingly provided the basis for urging restraint by the Opposition. In declaring Mr Tsvangirai the clear winner of the presidential vote, Mr Beti gave numbers that suggested that his boss won a little over 49 per cent of the vote cast, rather than the more than 50 per cent he was claiming. Moreover, when his percentages for all the candidates in the race, including President Mugabe's and Mr Tsvangirai's, were added, they came to more than 102 per cent. This obviously raises questions about the certitude with which the MDC makes its declarations, even if it is clear that Mr Mugabe is in trouble.

It is unfortunate that Mr Mugabe has brought Zimbabwe to ruin and squandered his legacy. He should do it no worse.