World May. 18, 2008 - 03:49AM JST ( 0 )

HARARE —

Fears of an assassination plot against Zimbabwe’s opposition leader delayed his long-awaited homecoming on Saturday ahead of an election showdown with veteran President Robert Mugabe on June 27.

After more than a month out of the country, Morgan Tsvangirai had been expected back Saturday, but he switched plans at the last minute after a tip-off about a planned attempt on his life, his party said.

“We received information from a credible source this morning concerning a planned assassination attempt on president Tsvangirai,” said Tsvangirai’s spokesman George Sibotshiwe from Johannesburg.

He was unable to say whether the plot was state-backed and declined to give further details, but he added that Tsvangirai, a former trade union leader, remained “determined to go home at the nearest opportunity.”

A source in Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who asked not be named, also said that the opposition had received information that the police “were unable or unwilling to guarantee Mr Tsvangirai’s safety.”

Violence has rocked Zimbabwe since a first round of elections in March in which Tsvangirai defeated veteran President Robert Mugabe. Pro-government militias are accused of harassing and killing opposition supporters.

Tsvangirai did not win the first round by enough to secure an outright victory and he had been expected back to begin campaigning ahead of the run-off election scheduled for June 27.

His party said a rally in the city of Bulawayo, which Tsvangirai was meant to address on Sunday, would go ahead regardless.

The police meanwhile said they were unaware of any threat and played down the danger.

“We are not aware of that a plot,” police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka said. “As police we are quite clear that the country is peaceful. Everyone is going about their lawful business as they want, with no need for any individuals to require special security.”

As well as the alleged assassination plot, Tsvangirai faces other dangers in his homeland, namely the threat of a treason charge after being accused of plotting with erstwhile colonial power Britain to overthrow the government.

He has been out of the country since shortly after the March ballot drumming up support internationally for his leadership bid.

Mugabe, Africa’s oldest leader, acknowledged on Friday that his loss in the first round of voting in March had been “disastrous” but he began campaigning on Saturday for his re-election with advertisements in state media.

“I thank you for voting in peace. Vote for R.G. Mugabe,” said an advertisement in The Herald newspaper. In a small box was his campaign theme: “100-percent total empowerment, independence.”

Mugabe, 84, who has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980, lost the first round by 43.2% to 47.9% against Tsvangirai and now is fighting for his survival after nearly three decades in power.

Tsvangirai, who had said last weekend he would return within a couple of days, has made a series of demands to ensure a free and fair run-off election, including the presence of foreign peacekeepers and election monitors.

These have been brushed off by the government and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi told The Herald on Saturday that “there would be no further invitations” for election monitors despite Western pressure.

No Western monitors were allowed to oversee the first ballot and teams from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union were widely criticized for giving it a largely clean bill of health.

Sibotshiwe said the opposition would appeal to SADC to help guarantee Tsvangirai’s safety when he returns home, adding that “consultations at a high level” would begin.

Speaking Friday, Tsvangirai had promised to return to Zimbabwe to stand in solidarity with his supporters who, according to a raft of reports, have faced intimidation and violence from pro-government militias.

The Movement for Democratic Change says at least 32 of its supporters have perished in the violence.

AFP