By Nelson Banya
HARARE (Reuters) - A United Nations envoy met Zimbabwe'sPresident Robert Mugabe on Tuesday to discuss the violentpolitical crisis ahead of this month's presidential electionrun-off.
The visit of Assistant Secretary-General for PoliticalAffairs Haile Menkerios is the first by a senior U.N. officialfor three years and comes at a time of growing internationalpressure on Mugabe over the June 27 vote.
"He met the president to discuss the technical requirementsfor holding the election, to see what the U.N. can do to helpbuild capacity for a free and fair election," a U.N. officialsaid.
Mugabe, 84, faces the Movement for Democratic Change's(MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai in the election. The opposition leaderwon a first round in March, but without enough votes to securean outright victory, official results showed.
Mugabe has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980and is fighting to keep power amid a desperate economic crisisthat has brought hyperinflation and food shortages and hasdriven millions of Zimbabweans to seek work abroad.
Tsvangirai, Mugabe's Western critics and human right groupsaccuse the veteran leader of orchestrating a violent campaignto intimidate MDC supporters and leaders ahead of the election.
Lawyers for detained MDC Secretary-General Tendai Bitiasked a court to release him unconditionally after policefailed to bring him to court to face a treason charge. Biti wasarrested at Harare airport on Thursday as he returned home.
Police said they were holding Biti for announcing theresults of the March 29 general elections prematurely. He facesa possible death penalty if convicted of the treason charge.
VIOLENCE
Tsvangirai has been repeatedly detained and released duringthe election campaign. The MDC says at least 66 oppositionactivists have been killed by militia from Mugabe's ZANU-PFsince the March elections.
Mugabe blames the opposition for the violence, which hascaused concerns in the region, which fears the consequences ofa meltdown in Zimbabwe.
Namibia's prime minister voiced concern at conditions inZimbabwe and said southern African countries would double thenumber of observers monitoring the run-off from those whofollowed the first round vote.
"There should be observers everywhere in Zimbabwe," PrimeMinister Nahas Angula told reporters in Helsinki. "We are doingall this in hope that the presence of observers will somehowprevent political violence to take place."
Britain and the United States urged Mugabe this week toallow a broader international observer mission. Monitors fromcountries critical of Mugabe have been banned from observingthe election.
Mugabe threatened on Monday to arrest MDC leaders over theviolence, and has vowed the opposition party will never ruleZimbabwe. He has said his supporters are ready to take up armsto prevent Zimbabwe from falling under the control of thecountry's white minority and Western powers.
A government minister dismissed speculation the electionmight be cancelled to avoid the risk of a Tsvangirai win.
"The run-off is going to take place on the 27th of June, sofocus on that and the results coming immediately after thatdate," Emmerson Mnangagwa, who heads the rural housing andsocial amenities ministry, said at a press conference inMaputo.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Wallis in Nairobi, CharlesMangwiro in Maputo and Tarmo Virki in Helsinki; Writing byGordon Bell and Paul Simao; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
