Elections will go ahead: Zanu-PF

The international community will reject any attempt by Mugabe to declare himself president - US

Zimbabwe's ruling party has dismissed the opposition's withdrawal from presidential elections as a "nullity", saying the run-off polls will go ahead on Friday, the state-owned The Herald reported today.

"Zanu-PF is not treating the threats seriously; it is a nullity. We are proceeding with our campaign to romp to victory on Friday," said Patrick Chinamasa, the chairperson of the Zanu-PF media sub-committee.

"This is the 11th time that (opposition leader Morgan) Tsvangirai has threatened to withdraw from the presidential run-off and on each occasion I have challenged him to put it in writing as required by the law," he told reporters in Harare last night.

MDC have not formally withdrawn
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said preparations for the presidential election run-off scheduled to take place on Friday would go ahead because the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had not formally withdrawn yet.

Chinamasa said Tsvangirai was using political violence as an excuse while the truth was that the majority of violent cases had been instigated by the MDC. "Tsvangirai went into the election thinking that it was a sprint and was not prepared for a marathon and wants to avoid defeat. He spent his time globe-trotting and gallivanting in Europe and left MDC-T supporters without leadership.

"Zanu-PF exploited the opportunity and campaigned vigorously for victory and when he returned, he realised that the tables had turned against him. His party was in disarray, leading to the decision to withdraw from participating in the run-off," said Chinamasa.

Calculated move
He said the announcement yesterday that the MDC would not take part in the elections was a calculated move to coincide with a UN Security Council meeting this week, which will be chaired by the United States.

Tsvangirai pulled out of the elections, saying it was too dangerous for opposition supporters. More than 70 MDC members have been killed since the first round of parliamentary and presidential elections, won by Tsvangirai, on March 29.

But Tsvangirai did not win an absolute majority over President Robert Mugabe and a second round of elections was scheduled to take place on Friday. - Sapa