U.N. envoy meets Mugabe ahead of run-off vote

By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - A United Nations envoy met Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday to discuss the political crisis and the violence marring campaigning for this month's presidential election run-off.

The visit of Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Haile Menkerios is the first by a senior U.N. official for three years and comes at a time of growing international pressure on Mugabe over the June 27 vote.

"He met the president to discuss the technical requirements for holding the election, to see what the U.N. can do to help build capacity for a free and fair election," a U.N. official said.

Mugabe, 84, faces the Movement for Democratic Change's (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai in the election. The opposition leader won the first round in March, but without enough votes to secure an outright victory, official results showed.

Mugabe has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980 and is fighting to keep power despite a desperate economic crisis that has brought hyperinflation and food shortages and driven millions of Zimbabweans to seek work abroad.

Tsvangirai, Mugabe's Western critics and human right groups accuse the veteran leader of orchestrating a violent campaign to intimidate MDC supporters and leaders ahead of the election.

A Zimbabwe High Court judge dismissed an application to release MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti after police failed to bring him to court to face a treason charge. Biti was arrested at Harare airport on Thursday as he returned home.

"I am not satisfied that the application has demonstrated that what he is calling continued detention is unlawful," judge Samuel Kudya said.