The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Harare

Nelson Mandela and US President George W. Bush on Wednesday led mounting world outrage over Zimbabwe, where veteran leader Robert Mugabe is pressing on with what is seen as a "sham" presidential run-off vote.

As pressure on the octogenarian Mugabe ratcheted, Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai called for armed peacekeepers to be sent to the country to stop terror attacks on his supporters.

The world's favourite elder statesman Mandela, an African liberation icon like Mugabe , spoke of a "tragic failure of leadership in our neighbouring Zimbabwe" during a celebrity fundraising dinner in London to mark his 90th birthday. "We look back at much human progress, but we sadly note so much failing as well," Mandela lamented.

"Friday's elections, you know, appear to be a sham," Bush said, referring to Mugabe's insistence to press on with the vote despite Tsvangirai's withdrawal due to attacks on his supporters and intimidation.

"You can't have free elections if a candidate is not allowed to campaign freely and his supporters aren't allowed to campaign without fear of intimidation," Bush said.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's neighbours from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) held an emergency summit in Swaziland and urged for the vote to be postponed.

Tomaz Augusto Salomao, SADC chief, told reporters after the meeting that "elections under the current environment undermines the credibility and legitimacy of the outcome."

He asked that the country "consider postponing the vote until a later day."

Tsvangirai called for peacekeepers and emerged briefly from the Dutch embassy, where he has been holed up since Sunday after announcing his ballot withdrawal, to appeal for fresh regional efforts to resolve the crisis.

He said a negotiated settlement provides the best answer, but warned he was open to talks only if Friday's run-off election did not go ahead with Mugabe as the sole candidate.

Reiterating his call for peacekeepers, Tsvangirai referred to his earlier comments in Britain's Guardian newspaper that the UN had to go further than verbal condemnation of Mugabe and move to "active isolation" which required "a force to protect the people."

"I didn't ask for any military intervention, but for armed peacekeepers," he told reporters.

"The people in the country can wait no longer."