By Phumza Macanda
PRETORIA (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition leader said on Saturday he would return home within two days to contest a run-off election against President Robert Mugabe and deal him a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power.
But chances of a speedy end to a tense political stalemate since a disputed March 29 election appeared remote, after the justice minister rejected Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai's preconditions for taking part in a run-off.
Tsvangirai said he would only participate if international observers and media were given full access to ensure the vote is fair. He said the country's electoral commission was discredited and should be revamped, and called on the regional SADC grouping to send peacekeepers to instill public confidence in the vote.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa shrugged off the demands.
"The run-off will be held within the framework of the constitution and the electoral laws. There will be no conditionalities that will be outside this framework," he told Reuters.
After weeks of equivocation, Tsvangirai said he would contest a new round of voting although he believes he won outright in the first round. The MDC accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of intimidating and attacking voters.
"The MDC ... will contest the run-off. I am ready, and the people are ready for the final round," Tsvangirai told a news conference in South Africa.
Official results showed ZANU-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980, and that Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the presidential poll, but not by enough votes to avoid a run-off. Both the government and opposition have challenged some of the results. Continued...
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has said today that he will be standing for the presidential run-off election against incumbent Robert Mugabe.

"The MDC has decided that we will contest the run-off election," he told reporters at a conference in Pretoria, South Africa, where he has been staying for the last month. He said his supporters would feel "betrayed" if he didn't stand and that the people are "ready for the final round".

Despite the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's (ZEC) official declaration that Mr. Tsvangirai won 47.9% against Mr. Mugabe's 43.2% in the first round, the MDC claims that they won it outright, gaining over 50%. They are sure that Mugabe's Zanu-PF party have used the time since the first round to rig votes and intimidate the electorate.

The MDC has also called for "unfettered access of all international observers," eventhough Mr. Mugabe has imposed bans on journalists  from outside Zimbabwe reporting within the country.

The ZEC has yet to announce when the run-off will take place, but Mr. Tsvangirai said it should take place by 23 May.