Tsvangirai vows to stop Mugabe's bid for term extension

HARARE - Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday said his party was opposed to an extension of President Robert Mugabe's term in office by two years, and vowed to push for elections in 2008 under a new constitution.

Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party once formed the stiffest challenge to Mugabe's more than two-decade hold on power, said 2007 would be a watershed year, promising that the opposition would work to save Zimbabwe from further damage.

'Zimbabwe's crisis of governance is deepening,' Tsvangirai said in a statement issued after a meeting of the MDC's national council.

'We need to resolve the national crisis,' he added.

The former trade union leader promised a campaign of public expression of 'our rejection of the extension of the status quo,' in reference to plans by some in the ruling party to postpone presidential elections from 2008 to 2010, thereby giving the 82-year-old Mugabe an extra two years in power.

Tsvangirai did not spell out exactly what form the public expression would take, though he promised there would be a vigorous campaign designed to push the Zimbabwean crisis into the international spotlight.

Zimbabwe is in the midst of its worst-ever economic crisis. Inflation is more than 1,200 per cent, and there are acute shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency.

Mugabe and his government blame the economic crisis on Western attempts to isolate the country. The longtime Zimbabwean leader claims the West is using the MDC as a front to illegally unseat him from power.

Previous attempts by the MDC to hold demonstrations have attracted only a small following that has been brutally quashed by police, while strikes have had only limited success.

The MDC itself has lost steam following a damaging split at the end of 2005. Although there have been calls for reunification between the Tsvangirai-led faction of the party and another led by former robotics professor Arthur Mutambara, there is no sign of reconciliation.

Tsvangirai said the MDC would work with civic groups and other government opponents in a relatively new coalition called the Save Zimbabwe Campaign.

But he warned the authorities would use desperate tactics to silence its opponents. 'We must be ready for it,' he said.

dpa