By Wendell Roelf
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's presidential electionrun-off should be scrapped to prevent further bloodshed, theruling party defector who came third in the first round said onThursday.
Former finance minister Simba Makoni won over 8 percent andthose who voted for him could be crucial in deciding the June27 contest between opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai andveteran President Robert Mugabe.
Makoni, who favours a national unity government, toldreporters that Zimbabwe could not afford another election andit would not end the political crisis and economic collapse.
"We are convinced that the last thing our country and itspeople need is another election. Besides, the violence nowgripping the country bodes ill for a free and fair election,"Makoni said on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meetingin Cape Town.
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the March 29 presidentialelection but failed to win the absolute majority needed toavoid a second ballot.
Makoni's campaign had said before the first round that hewould back Tsvangirai if voting went to a run-off, but sincethen he was not formally endorsed the opposition leader.
The opposition accuses Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF ofintimidation and violence to extend the president's 28-yearrule and says 65 people have been killed since the first roundof voting. Mugabe blames the opposition for violence.
The MDC said Tsvangirai was continuing his campaign onThursday after being detained for nine hours on Wednesday.
OBSERVERS
South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said onThursday that the country would begin sending electionobservers to Zimbabwe this week. They will be part of a largermission sent by the Southern African Development Community.
"We are totally convinced that the rule of law must prevailin Zimbabwe ... whatever happens the will of the people must bereflected in the coming elections," Pahad said in a briefing inCape Town, according to the SAPA news agency.
Makoni said harassment of opposition leaders and assaultson lawyers and people dealing with the victims of politicalviolence was aimed at creating a hostile environment for a freeand fair run-off.
"And if the leaders will that the elections be put off sothat we can save lives ... then it is not beyond us if we willit that the elections be called off," he said.
State media reported on Thursday that the ruling ZANU-PFparty and Tsvangirai's MDC have set up a joint team to stoppolitical violence, but the opposition said it was unlikely towork in practice.
In an indicator of Zimbabwe's economic collapse, its dollarcurrency plunged to a new low of between 995 million and 1.45billion to the greenback on Thursday from an average 700million at the beginning of the week.
Zimbabwe's production capacity, largely based onagriculture, has declined sharply mainly due to upheavals oncommercial farms following Mugabe's drive to seize land fromwhites to resettle landless blacks.
Basic goods, most of which have to be imported, have soaredin price since the first round of voting.
(Additional reporting by Nelson Banya in Harare and PaulSimao in Johannesburg; Writing by Marius Bosch; Editing byMatthew Tostevin)
