Mugabe Defiant Despite Pressure

Robert Mugabe yesterday rejected growing regional and international pressure to call off Friday's presidential election. African leaders joined international condemnation and the opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, formally submitted a letter withdrawing from the race.

But Mugabe said the election would go ahead. "They can shout as loud as they like from Washington and London and any other quarter. Our people and only our people will decide," he told an election rally.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress accused Mugabe of "riding roughshod over hard-won democratic rights" and said it could not remain "indifferent to the flagrant violation of every principle of democratic governance". The ANC leader, Jacob Zuma, said the situation in Zimbabwe was "out of control" and called for the UN and regional leaders to intervene urgently. Senegal's president, Abdoulaye Wade, also called for the election to be postponed, saying there was no chance of a fair vote.

South Africa's trades union confederation, Cosatu, said it would mobilize workers across the world to isolate Mugabe.

Tsvangirai, who has sought refuge in the Dutch embassy in Harare, submitted a letter to the election commission formally pulling out of the election, and saying: "The violence, intimidation, death, destruction of property is just too much for anyone to dream of a free and fair election, let alone expect our people to be able to freely and independently express ... themselves."