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| Zimbabwe poll under fresh attack | Zimbabwe poll under fresh attack |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| African states monitoring Zimbabwe's election campaign have added their voice to growing international pressure over the presidential run-off vote. | African states monitoring Zimbabwe's election campaign have added their voice to growing international pressure over the presidential run-off vote. |
| Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, who heads a troika of observer states, told the BBC mounting violence could make a free vote impossible. | Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, who heads a troika of observer states, told the BBC mounting violence could make a free vote impossible. |
| He said monitors had witnessed people being shot dead - and they were questioning the value of their mission. | He said monitors had witnessed people being shot dead - and they were questioning the value of their mission. |
| A spokesman for the governing Zanu-PF party dismissed Mr Membe's remarks. | |
| Speaking to the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, Jerome Macdonald Gumbo accused the Tanzanian foreign minister of bias. | |
| He said: "Skirmishes between the MDC and Zanu-PF are normal but not to the extent that the elections cannot be free and fair. He is biased." | |
| As the observers were being deployed to those various stations, two people were shot dead Bernard MembeTanzanian Foreign Minister Diary: Militias reach townForeboding rises over Zimbabwe | |
| Meanwhile, the secretary general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Tendai Biti, has arrived in court to face treason charges. | |
| He was arrested last week after returning from South Africa. | |
| Earlier on Wednesday, the opposition said four abducted activists had been found dead. | |
| The bodies were discovered near the capital Harare, according to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by presidential contender Morgan Tsvangirai. | |
| An MDC spokesman accused supporters of President Robert Mugabe of being behind the deaths ahead of the 27 June election. | An MDC spokesman accused supporters of President Robert Mugabe of being behind the deaths ahead of the 27 June election. |
| The body of Harare's recently elected opposition mayor's wife has also reportedly been found, badly burnt. | The body of Harare's recently elected opposition mayor's wife has also reportedly been found, badly burnt. |
| The UN Security Council is to hold an informal meeting on Zimbabwe on Thursday, in an attempt to maintain international political pressure. | The UN Security Council is to hold an informal meeting on Zimbabwe on Thursday, in an attempt to maintain international political pressure. |
| Opposition 'derailed' | Opposition 'derailed' |
| Mr Membe was speaking at a news conference on behalf of the three nations from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) monitoring the polls. | Mr Membe was speaking at a news conference on behalf of the three nations from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) monitoring the polls. |
| He said that he and his counterparts from Angola and Swaziland would be appealing to their own presidents to take urgent action "so that we can save Zimbabwe". | He said that he and his counterparts from Angola and Swaziland would be appealing to their own presidents to take urgent action "so that we can save Zimbabwe". |
| Many opposition rallies have been banned, so they campaign in buses | Many opposition rallies have been banned, so they campaign in buses |
| "The first impression we have is that if the elections were to take place today, these elections would never be free and fair... because... the report we received still indicates that violence is escalating throughout Zimbabwe," he told the BBC. | "The first impression we have is that if the elections were to take place today, these elections would never be free and fair... because... the report we received still indicates that violence is escalating throughout Zimbabwe," he told the BBC. |
| "We have received a report that says on the 16th of June this year, as the observers were being deployed to those various stations, two people were shot dead. | "We have received a report that says on the 16th of June this year, as the observers were being deployed to those various stations, two people were shot dead. |
| "Of course, it scared most of these observers to the extent that they had to pose the question of why are we here then, and what are we doing?" | "Of course, it scared most of these observers to the extent that they had to pose the question of why are we here then, and what are we doing?" |
| "There is a derailment of Mr Tsvangirai wherever he wants to go to campaign, he's detained at police stations," Mr Membe added. | "There is a derailment of Mr Tsvangirai wherever he wants to go to campaign, he's detained at police stations," Mr Membe added. |
| Correspondents say SADC is the international grouping with the most influence on Zimbabwe, as it is made up of its neighbours. | Correspondents say SADC is the international grouping with the most influence on Zimbabwe, as it is made up of its neighbours. |
| His remarks are the latest in a growing chorus of opinion across Africa that Zimbabwe's elections now appear to be fatally flawed, the BBC's Peter Greste reports from neighbouring South Africa. | His remarks are the latest in a growing chorus of opinion across Africa that Zimbabwe's elections now appear to be fatally flawed, the BBC's Peter Greste reports from neighbouring South Africa. |
| FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme | FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme |
| On Wednesday, the head of another African observer mission in Zimbabwe - Marwick Khumalo of the pan-African parliamentary group - warned he would not endorse the run-off vote if current levels of violence continued. | On Wednesday, the head of another African observer mission in Zimbabwe - Marwick Khumalo of the pan-African parliamentary group - warned he would not endorse the run-off vote if current levels of violence continued. |
| Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have also voiced their concern. | Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have also voiced their concern. |
| Mr Odinga called for international peacekeepers to be deployed. | Mr Odinga called for international peacekeepers to be deployed. |
| US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to chair the UN Security Council meeting. | US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to chair the UN Security Council meeting. |
| "You cannot intimidate opponents, you cannot put opponents in jail, you cannot threaten them with charges of treason, and be respected in the international community," she told reporters in Washington. | "You cannot intimidate opponents, you cannot put opponents in jail, you cannot threaten them with charges of treason, and be respected in the international community," she told reporters in Washington. |
| Observer numbers slashed | Observer numbers slashed |
| Zimbabwe's own independent electoral watchdog, the election support network, says it has at last been formally invited to monitor the poll but only with 500 observers. | Zimbabwe's own independent electoral watchdog, the election support network, says it has at last been formally invited to monitor the poll but only with 500 observers. |
| That is a tiny fraction of the 12,000 the network had hoped to deploy to keep track of the 9,000 polling stations that will be opened on election day. | That is a tiny fraction of the 12,000 the network had hoped to deploy to keep track of the 9,000 polling stations that will be opened on election day. |
| The network has been credited with helping to keep the first round of the election relatively free and fair but even now its members have come under attack, our correspondent says. | The network has been credited with helping to keep the first round of the election relatively free and fair but even now its members have come under attack, our correspondent says. |
| One of its observers was murdered earlier this week. | One of its observers was murdered earlier this week. |
| The MDC says at least 70 of its supporters have now been killed and 25,000 forced from their homes in a state-sponsored campaign of violence. | The MDC says at least 70 of its supporters have now been killed and 25,000 forced from their homes in a state-sponsored campaign of violence. |
| Zimbabwean public broadcaster ZBC has also announced it will no longer carry campaign adverts from the MDC. | Zimbabwean public broadcaster ZBC has also announced it will no longer carry campaign adverts from the MDC. |
| There are no privately controlled radio or TV stations in Zimbabwe and only a few weekly newspapers, which most people cannot afford. | There are no privately controlled radio or TV stations in Zimbabwe and only a few weekly newspapers, which most people cannot afford. |