Africa's former leaders urge free Zimbabwe vote

LONDON (Reuters) - Fourteen former presidents and African dignitaries including former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for Zimbabwean authorities to allow a free and fair vote on June 27 overseen by independent observers.

Zimbabweans will go to the polls to decide the second round of a presidential election later this month after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat incumbent Robert Mugabe in the first round in March.

Opposition campaigners, human rights groups and Western powers complain of a brutal harassment campaign with Tsvangirai detained four times in the past week. Tsvangirai says 66 of his followers have been murdered.

In full-page advertisements in the Financial Times and South African daily Business Day on Friday, African academics, former heads of state and religious leaders said they were deeply troubled by the reports of intimidation and violence.

"As Africans we consider the forthcoming elections to be critical. We are aware of the attention of the world," said the appeal, signed by some of Africa's most well-known figures, from Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu and Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour to former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano.

"We call for an end to the violence and intimidation, and restoration of full access for humanitarian and aid agencies."

They also called for an "adequate number of independent electoral observers" both during and after the June poll.

Sudanese-born telecoms entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim, whose foundation supported the initiative, said the signatories did not expect a response from Zimbabwean authorities but hoped to provide a voice for African civil society.

"People in Africa, ordinary people in all segments of society, feel strongly about what is happening in Zimbabwe. We wanted to be heard all over the world," Ibrahim told Reuters.

"Many people ask why Africans are silent? Africans are not silent... We have no agenda here. All we are asking for is fair and peaceful elections -- that's not much to ask," he said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called separately on Friday for Zimbabwe to allow a return of aid workers, U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations, along with more international election observers.

(Reporting by Clara Ferreira-Marques; Additional reporting by Katherine Baldwin; Editing by Janet Lawrence)