EU THREAT
European Union leaders issued a new threat of further sanctions on Zimbabwe over the election violence. The EU has an arms embargo on Zimbabwe as well as visa bans and asset freezes on Mugabe and other officials.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I think we have to remind President Mugabe and the Zimbabwean regime that the eyes of the world are on what is happening in that country."
But Dimitrij Rupel, the foreign minister of EU presidency holder Slovenia, conceded the bloc could do little.
Observers from Western countries have been barred. The 14-nation Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) is sending 380 monitors to Zimbabwe for the vote.
SADC ministers responsible for peace and security said on Thursday they doubted the election would be free, signalling growing impatience on the continent with Mugabe.
Kenya said in a statement on Friday anything less than a free and fair election would be unacceptable and "an affront" to the evolving democratic culture in Africa.
State media said Mugabe had told a campaign rally he planned to stay in power until he was sure his programmes of seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks was irreversible.
"Once I am sure this legacy is truly in your hands, people are empowered . then I can say: Aha, the work is now done," the Herald quoted Mugabe as saying. He brands his opponents as stooges of the West.
Mugabe's critics say the farm seizures have helped wreck the economy. He blames Western sanctions. Inflation is over 165,000 percent, unemployment stands at 80 percent and Zimbabweans suffer shortages of food and fuel.
Zimbabwe's neighbours fear the consequences of total meltdown there and the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said it was already talking to them on contingency plans in case a large number of Zimbabweans are forced to flee.
Despite the political crisis, London-listed investment group LonZim said it remained bullish on prospects and that it planned to raise a further $60-100 million (30-50 million pounds) through a share sale to buy assets in Zimbabwe.
"Our focus is to position ourselves for economic recovery," Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey White told Reuters. "We believe it is the right time."
