THE ZIMBABWE authorities placed security forces on full alert ahead of today's bitterly contested elections and will not allow candidates to declare themselves winners before official results, police chief Augustine Chihuri said yesterday.
In one of his last rallies before the vote, president Robert Mugabe struck a familiar theme, mocking the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and attacking former colonial power Britain.
"This is a vote against the British. The fight is not against the MDC . . . the MDC is just a puppet, a mouthpiece of the British," he told 6,000 people on the outskirts of Harare.
Mugabe blames sanctions by Britain and other western nations for the collapse of the economy in the once-prosperous country, now suffering the world's highest inflation, at 100,000 per cent, a virtually worthless currency, and food and fuel shortages.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe's opposition parties have suggested they may form a united front in the event that the elections do not produce an outright winner.
Former finance minister and Zanu-PF party member Simba Makoni and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai are considering joining forces as the race for the presidency enters its final stages.
In February, when Mr Makoni first went public with his intentions to run against the 84-year-old Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, Mr Tsvangirai dismissed the possibility of a unified front describing Mr Makoni as "old wine in a new bottle".
However, after an announcement last Thursday by a top Makoni official, it would appear both sides have been considering whether a united front is the best way to defeat Mr Mugabe in the event of a second round head-to-head.
The national campaign co-ordinator for Makoni, Nkosana Moyo, said Zimbabweans would like to see "an end to Mugabe's mismanagement, so any configuration that leads to a run-off will see Mugabe on one side and everybody else on the other."
A run-off between Mr Mugabe and one other candidate is a distinct possibility, as the analysts say that, following the split in his party, he may not achieve the 51 per cent needed for outright victory .
Despite this development, Mr Mugabe still has the ability to win today's poll, albeit through skulduggery, according a report by the International Crisis Group.
The ruling party "has been using all the extensive means at its disposal to maintain an unfair advantage", it reported.
The group said that if confrontation persists, the African Union should be ready to mediate a power-sharing agreement to produce a transitional, reformist government .
"A settlement need not necessarily remove Mugabe. He might serve as a non-executive head of state during a transitional period in advance of fresh elections," said the group's report.
Mr Mugabe has denied he will rig today's election and has promised a resounding victory to prove to his critics that the ordinary Zimbabwean still wants him to rule the troubled country.