Mugabe defies mounting pressure to stop vote

By Cris Chinaka

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe defied mounting pressure on Tuesday from both inside and outside Africa to call off Friday's presidential election, saying he had a legal obligation to go ahead.

Both Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and South African ruling ANC leader Jacob Zuma said the presidential run-off must be postponed after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the vote and fled to the Dutch embassy in Harare.

The U.N. Security Council issued an unprecedented and unanimous condemnation of violence against the opposition and said it made a fair poll impossible. The statement won support from South Africa, China and Russia which have previously blocked such moves.

But Mugabe shrugged off the pressure and the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe said the world could not stop the run-off election.

"The West can scream all it wants. Elections will go on. Those who want to recognize our legitimacy can do so, those who don't want, should not," Mugabe told a rally in western Zimbabwe.

International concern is growing over Zimbabwe's political turmoil and economic meltdown, blamed by the West and the opposition on Mugabe, who has held power ever since independence from Britain 28 years ago.

The U.N. Security Council will consider further steps against Zimbabwe if Harare ignores its statement declaring a free and fair run-off impossible, said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the current council president.

But the envoy, speaking to reporters after a council session, declined to say what steps the council might take.

Wade said in a statement that Tsvangirai took refuge after being tipped off that soldiers were on the way to his house. "He is only safe because, alerted by friends, he left in a hurry a few minutes earlier," Wade said.

Mugabe denied that Tsvangirai was in danger. "Tsvangirai is frightened. He has run to seek refuge at the Dutch embassy. What for? These are voters, they will do you no harm. Political harm, yes, because they will vote against you. No one wants to kill Tsvangirai."

OUT OF CONTROL

Zuma, who rivals President Thabo Mbeki as South Africa's most powerful man, called for urgent intervention by the United Nations and regional body SADC (Southern African Development Community), saying the situation in Zimbabwe was out of control.

"The ANC (African National Congress) says the run-off is no longer a solution, you need a political arrangement first ... then elections down the line," Zuma said.

Mozambique added its voice to calls for a return to talks. In a statement on Tuesday, the country's Foreign Ministry said the situation in Zimbabwe had now reached alarming proportions.

Mugabe said he would not refuse to negotiate with Tsvangirai but the vote must go ahead. "For now there is only one thing for us to accomplish ... it's the legal process on the 27th of June," the 84-year-old president said.