By ANGUS SHAW
Harare - Zimbabwe's presidential run-off cannot take place in the time set by law, the head of the electoral commission said in an interview published on Sunday.
"It was ambitious for the legislature to think 21 days would be enough," George Chiweshe was quoted as saying in the state-run Sunday Mail.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has insisted that the vote should be held within 21 days of the May 2 announcement of the results from the first vote, but Zimbabwean government officials have said the electoral commission has up to a year to hold the run-off.
Tsvangirai said on Saturday that he would return to the country to contest the run-off against President Mugabe, despite threats to his life.
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Chiweshe said there were legal provisions to extend the period before the election is held.
"We want to make it clear we intend to hold the runoff at the earliest date because the period set by the legislature shows that it should be held as soon as possible," he was quoted as saying in the paper.
He said the electoral body was still waiting for the allocation of funds from the government to hold the poll.
It took the commission more than a month to announce results from the March 29 election.
Tsvangirai maintains he won the first round outright and that official figures showing a second round was necessary were fraudulent.
Mugabe has been accused of orchestrating violence against the opposition since the first round, raising questions about whether a runoff would be free or fair. Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party, meanwhile, has already launched its runoff campaign.
Tsvangirai said on Saturday at a news conference in South Africa that although another election may bring more violence he will return shortly to Zimbabwe to face Mugabe.
He and other top opposition figures have stayed out of Zimbabwe since the initial voting.
Speaking after meeting with Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos later on Saturday, Tsvangirai said he assured regional leaders that if he were to win the presidency, he would respect Mugabe's place in Zimbabwe's history.
Dos Santos is seen as close to Mugabe and heads the key political, defence and security committee of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Tsvangirai said in the Angolan capital that he had assured dos Santos Mugabe would be treated as the "father of the nation," in the interest of building peace and stability in Zimbabwe. That appeared to indicate a softening; Tsvangirai said in an interview last month he believed the Zimbabwean people would press for Mugabe to stand trial for crimes against humanity.
Tsvangirai also said he spoke with dos Santos about escalating violence in Zimbabwe, and what needed to be done to improve conditions for the presidential run-off.
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights has said 22 people have died and 900 have been tortured in postelection violence, while 40 000 farmworkers have been displaced in an effort to prevent them from voting in the runoff.
"If this is going to be a successful runoff, opposition leaders and supporters must be able to freely campaign free of violence," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council. "We would like to see election monitors - UN human rights monitors to ensure we have a safe electoral process there." - Sapa-AP
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