Opposition leader awaits word on date of Zimbabwe vote

Wants runoff set before saying if he'll participate

Morgan Tsvangirai has already made up his mind about whether to take part in the vote.

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's opposition leader will not say publicly whether he will participate in a presidential runoff until election officials set a date, even though he's already made up his mind about whether to run, an aide said yesterday.

Morgan Tsvangirai can concede the second-round vote to longtime President Robert Mugabe, or the Movement for Democratic Change leader can try to campaign though he acknowledges he could be arrested or attacked.

"We have a decision," said George Sibotshiwe, Tsvangirai's spokesman. "But we will only announce it when [the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission] announces the date of the election."

Electoral commission officials announced Friday that a runoff would be necessary because neither Mugabe nor Tsvangirai won a simple majority in March's vote.

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said last week that Zimbabwe's constitution requires a second round no sooner than 21 days from the announcement of the results, and no later than a year.

Tsvangirai was in Johannesburg in neighboring South Africa, Sibotshiwe said. The candidate has been traveling in neighboring countries since the election, saying his priority is to rally international support but also acknowledging that he could be arrested or attacked should he go home.

Tsvangirai contends he won outright on March 29 and MDC officials dismissed as fraudulent the official announcement that he did not receive enough votes to avoid a second round.

Tsvangirai's party and independent rights groups have accused Mugabe of delaying the official results while his army and party militants mounted a campaign of violence and intimidation intended to undermine support for the opposition before any runoff.

Zimbabwe's neighbors called on the government to guarantee security during the second round, according to a statement issued yesterday after a weekend meeting in Angola of the Southern African Development Community's political, defense, and security committee.

Mugabe's officials have rejected allegations of fomenting political violence, instead accusing the opposition of being behind the unrest.