Zimbabweans will be forced to vote tomorrow because of the presence of troops and militias close to President Robert Mugabe’s government, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said this evening.
In an interview with Portuguese radio station Renascenca Mr Tsvangirai said: "What will happen tomorrow is that people will be forced to vote because the military were mobilised to accompany this process."
Earlier today Mr Tsvangirai issued a 24-hour deadline to Mr Mugabe to negotiate or face being shunned as an illegitimate leader responsible for the killing of civilians.
However President Mugabe said the election would go ahead tomorrow despite African calls for postponement, but said he was open to discussion with the opposition.
Addressing a campaign rally in Chitungwiza, south of Harare, Mr Mugabe said: "We have some of our brothers in Africa making that call (to postpone the vote), pushing us to violate our own law and we have refused to do so, we are sticking to our law."
Mr Mugabe said he would attend an African Union summit in Egypt next weekend but no solutions could be imposed on Zimbabwe from outside.
He said he was ready to answer any challenge from within the AU to the elections.
From the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the top regional body, to former South African President Nelson Mandela, African leaders have piled increasing pressure on MR Mugabe to call off a presidential election tomorrow.
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| Mr Tsvangirai said the time for talking to Mr Mugabe would end if he went ahead with the election |
Mr Mugabe who trailed Mr Tsvangirai for the presidency in a first round election in March, has dismissed international condemnation of violence against the opposition and has vowed to extend his 28 years in power.
Mr Tsvangirai, who withdrew from Friday's run-off and has taken refuge in the Dutch embassy in Harare since Sunday, said in an interview with the Timesthe time for talking to Mr Mugabe would end if he went ahead with the election.
"Negotiations will be over if Mr Mugabe declares himself the winner and considers himself the president. How can we negotiate?" said Mr Tsvangirai, who insists Mr Mugabe must go so Zimbabwe can end its political turmoil and economic meltdown.
If Mr Mugabe approached him afterwards, Mr Tsvangirai said he had this message: "I made these offers, I made these overtures, I told you I would negotiate before the elections and not after - because it's not about elections, it's about transition.
"You disregarded that, you undertook violence against my supporters, you killed and maimed, you are still killing and maiming unarmed civilians, the army is still out there.
"How can you call yourself an elected president? You are illegitimate and I will not speak to an illegitimate president."
Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission said yesterday that tomorrow’s poll would go ahead.
Mr Tsvangirai said it was too early to say when he would leave the Dutch embassy.
"I am the prime target. I am not going to take chances with my safety. It's not just about Mr Mugabe, it's about the people out there who could take the law into their own hands. There is no rule of law here," said Mr Tsvangirai.
His Movement for Democratic Change says nearly 90 of its supporters have been killed by militias loyal to Mr Mugabe.
Mr Mugabe has vowed to extend his 28 years in power
On Wednesday, the SADC's security troika urged the postponement of tomorrow’s election, saying the re-election of Mr Mugabe could lack legitimacy in the current violent climate.
The troika, comprising African Union chairman Tanzania, Swaziland and Angola, called at its meeting near the Swazi capital Mbabane for talks between Mr Mugabe's government and the opposition before a new run-off date was set.
Nelson Mandela, revered by many across the world for his role in ending apartheid in South Africa, rarely speaks on political issues these days but used a speech at a dinner in London to condemn a "tragic failure of leadership" in Zimbabwe.
President George W. Bush said after meeting UN Security Council members at the White House that tomorrow’s poll had no credibility.
US Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama said the world must do more on Zimbabwe and singled out South Africa as a country that needed to put more pressure on Mr Mugabe.
"What's happening in Zimbabwe is tragic. This is a country that used to be the bread basket of Africa. Mugabe has run the economy into the ground. He has perpetrated extraordinary violence against his own people," Mr Obama said in Chicago.
Reuters