Mugabe accuses opposition of lying over violence

Harare: Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe accused the opposition of lying over political violence to justify claims that next week's presidential run-off vote will not be free and fair, the official media reported on Saturday.

Mugabe said the Movement for Democratic Change was compiling names of alleged victims and falsely claiming that their supporters were being beaten up.

"They say this so that they can later say the elections were not free and fair. Which is a damn lie," the state Herald newspaper quoted him as saying at a campaign rally Friday in the western city of Bulawayo.

Mugabe faces opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the June 27 run-off. Tsvangirai won the first round but not by an outright majority.

The High Court on Saturday overturned a police ban on the opposition party's main pre-election rally scheduled for today at Harare's showground, opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.

Tsvangirai's attempts to tour the country have been stymied by police at road blocks, and the state-controlled media all but ignore him.

The Herald said on Saturday that Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings would not air opposition campaign advertisements because they "contain inappropriate language and information." It cited one advert which claimed that Tsvangirai won the election, "which is not the case, hence the run-off."

Tsvangirai said Friday that a "wave of brutality" has swept Zimbabwe since the run-off was called. His message was distributed by e-mail, one of the few ways he has of reaching voters.