Tsvangirai says Mugabe preparing violence

By Muchena Zigomo

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition accused President Robert Mugabe on Saturday of deploying loyal forces and liberation war veterans for a "war on the people" to reverse the result of last weekend's election.

"Militants are being rehabilitated," Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai told a press conference, adding that the central bank was printing money "for the finance of violence" ahead of a presidential runoff vote.

The MDC says it won the March 29 presidential election, though no official results have been released.

Official results do show the MDC won a parallel vote in which Mugabe's ZANU-PF lost control of parliament for the first time -- the biggest defeat of the veteran leader's 28-year rule.

ZANU-PF and independent projections show Tsvangirai being forced into a presidential runoff after failing to win an absolute majority.

"The circumstances have changed, ZANU-PF has threatened, has deployed militias, has deployed war veterans," Tsvangirai said, adding Mugabe was "preparing a war on the people".

"It is unfair ... for President Mugabe to even hint at a runoff. Violence will be the new weapon to reverse the people's will. We won this election without the need for a runoff," said Tsvangirai, who called Mugabe a lame duck president and demanded that he concede.

Later on Saturday state-owned radio reported that a group of pro-Mugabe war veterans had vowed to occupy all white-owned farms in Masvingo Province amid reports white farmers were returning to land seized by the government.

The war veterans have in the past been used to intimidate government opponents. Beginning in 2000 they led a wave of violent occupations of white farms as part of a government policy to redistribute land to blacks.

DELAY

Zimbabwe's electoral commission on Saturday announced the final results of the senate election, showing ZANU-PF had won 30 seats, the same as MDC and a breakaway opposition faction combined.

But control of the senate, which can block lower house legislation, will depend on who wins the presidential election. The head of state appoints 15 members and local chiefs, who are normally loyal to him, appoint the remaining 18.

The senate results had to precede the anxiously awaited presidential outcome. But despite growing impatience over the delay, the commission said it would only release the results "when they are ready".

Under electoral law a presidential runoff must be held three weeks after results are released. So the longer the results take, the more time ZANU-PF has to organize.

Earlier the Zimbabwe High Court postponed until Sunday a legal bid by the opposition to force the release of the presidential results.