HARARE, April 5: Zimbabwe’s opposition leader accused President Robert Mugabe on Saturday of preparing a “war against the people,” with violence the most likely tool in a possible election runoff.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Movement for Democratic Change, told a news conference that his party was reluctant to take part in a second round of presidential elections because of the mounting climate of fear – although he stopped short of threatening a boycott.

“ZANU-PF (the party of President Mugabe) is preparing a war against the people,” Tsvangirai said. “In the runoff, violence will be the weapon. It is therefore unfair and unreasonable for President Mugabe to call a runoff.”

He reiterated his claim that a runoff was unnecessary because he had won last Saturday’s presidential election outright. His party claims he won 50.3 per cent of the vote, but the official election commission has still not released the results.

Opposition officials said the party would launch a new court effort on Sunday to force the commission to publish the results. Armed police prevented lawyers from entering the court on Saturday.

Tsvangirai said the clampdown came as Mugabe was mobilising armed militias and war veterans.Feared veterans of the guerilla war, who were used in the past to beat up opponents, held an intimidating march on Friday. Opposition party offices were raided and armed police in full riot gear arrested foreign journalists.

Official results for the parliamentary elections showed the ruling party lost its majority in the 210-seat parliament for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980. Final results for the largely ceremonial 60-member senate gave the ruling party and the opposition 30 seats each.

Independent projections show Tsvangirai won the most votes – but not the 50 per cent plus one needed for an outright victory. So far, there has been consensus that the results have not been rigged.

Tsvangirai said the violence and intimidation would likely worsen and appealed to African leaders and the United Nations to intervene to “prevent chaos and dislocation.”

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga dismissed the comments.

“It’s a lot of nonsense. Zimbabwe held a very peaceful election. There was no violence. Nobody was killed,” he told Sky Television.

The law requires a runoff within 21 days of the first round of elections. But diplomats in Harare and at the United Nations said Mugabe was planning to declare a 90-day delay to give security forces time to clamp down.

“Mugabe must accept that the country needs to move forward. He cannot hold the country to ransom. He is the problem not the solution,” Tsvangirai said.—AP