Zimbabwe's main opposition group said today it had stepped up efforts to secure regional peacekeepers for the run-off presidential election against Robert Mugabe after weeks of violence that intimidated voters.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai held talks late on Saturday with Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to encourage the regional group Southern African Development Community (SADC) to send the peacekeepers.
Santos heads SADC's security committee.
Tsvangirai said on Saturday he would return home within two days to deal Mugabe a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power.
He said he wanted SADC peacekeepers to instil public confidence in the ballot and bring an end to the crisis that followed Zimbabwe's disputed March 29th poll.
Angola's Angop news agency said Tsvangirai had told reporters that "should he win the election ... the outgoing president would be granted an honourable exit as ... Robert Mugabe was the father of the nation".
A former guerrilla leader, Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
The West and rights groups accuse him of human rights violations and wrecking the economy, but he is viewed as an independence hero by many in Africa.
After weeks of equivocation, Tsvangirai said he would contest the run-off even though he believes he won outright in the first round and accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of vote-rigging.
Official results show Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe, but not enough to avoid a run-off.
Tsvangirai said he would only stand if international observers and media were given full access to ensure the vote is fair.
Zimbabwe's government rejected any conditions for the run-off, but has previously allowed in SADC election monitors.
Voters had hoped the ballot might help end an economic meltdown that has triggered chronic food and fuel shortages, 80 percent unemployment and inflation of 165,000 percent.
The MDC, rights groups and Western nations have accused ZANU-PF of launching a campaign of arrests and violence to ensure Mugabe wins a run-off.
State television said on Sunday police had arrested 58 MDC activists on suspicion of torching homes of ruling party supporters.