Zimbabwe's ambassador to Australia has defected and is asking the Australian government for political asylum.
Jaqueline Zwambila, a critic of the president Robert Mugabe and his government, which was re-elected in July, says she fears for her safety if she returns home when her term ends on Tuesday.
AAP reports Ms Zwambila is aligned to the Movement for Democratic Change, an opposition party.
The Canberra Times says Ms Zwambila has been recalled from her post without being offered another job.
She said she knew when Mr Mugabe won elections earlier this year that her term would end. "Once the elections of 31 July were stolen by the current government - which is illegitimate - I knew that this was the end of the line," she said in a video on the Canberra Times website.
"End of the line for the people of Zimbabwe ... and for people like me, who were appointed by the ex-prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai."
Mr Mugabe, 89, received 61% of the vote at the election in July, which ended a coalition government with Mr Tsvangirai which was formed in 2009. Mr Mugabe has called on his opponents to accept defeat or commit suicide.
The office of the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, said it is looking into Ms Zwambila's request for political asylum.
