The Agence France Presse

HARARE — Southern African leaders meet this weekend in Johannesburg to lay out a roadmap to elections in Zimbabwe, amid warnings of rising violence and intimidation, officials said Thursday.

Leaders in the 15-country Southern African Development Community (SADC) are to meet on Saturday evening, the South African foreign ministry said.

They will consider a report by SADC's security "troika", which at a March meeting in Zambia lashed out at President Robert Mugabe's failure to make reforms paving the way for elections.

In an unusually harsh communique, it also denounced political violence and intimidation, echoing concerns raised by Mugabe's rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

"We expect the summit to adopt the report of the troika in Livingstone. The findings of the troika were correct and impeccable," said Douglas Mwonzora, spokesman for Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

"We also expect a clear roadmap towards free and fair elections. Zimbabwe must never again have elections that don't produce credible results and credible leadership," he told AFP.

The MDC says more than 200 of its supporters were killed after Zimbabwe's failed 2008 presidential run-off, when Tsvangirai pulled out in protest at the violence, leaving Mugabe to a one-sided victory.

SADC then pressured Mugabe into accepting a unity government with Tsvangirai, which was meant to draft a new constitution to ensure political and human rights reforms before fresh elections.

The constitution, which is to be approved by referendum, is now a year behind schedule, but Mugabe's ZANU-PF party still insists on elections for this year.

"It is 12 months behind schedule and should be concluded as soon as possible so that new elections are held this year," ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said in a statement.

"It is a fact that the three parties to the GPA (global political agreement) failed to work together as a team for the development of the country," he said.

Mugabe, who at 87 is Africa's oldest leader, has already announced his candidacy.

But Tsvangirai says elections are impossible for this year, and some factions within ZANU-PF have taken the unusual step of publicly questioning the wisdom of a rush to the polls.

Elections monitors say the voters roll is in shambles. About one-third of the people on it are dead. Some voters are listed with birthdates in the 1890s, others are listed as born last year, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network says.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a Tsvangirai ally, says there is no money for elections this year. Central Bank governor Gideon Gono, from Mugabe's camp, says quick polls would scare off desperately needed investors.

The summit could settle the debate over the election date by laying out a timeline for finishing the constitution while looking to curb political violence and intimidation.

Amnesty International has condemned Mugabe's party for orchestrating a wave of attacks on Tsvangirai supporters, with the complicity of police.

The summit Saturday will take place in Johannesburg on the eve of free trade talks among 26 African nations.

Tsvangirai will attend the talks, Mwonzora said. Mugabe rarely reveals his travel schedule in advance, but he routinely attends such meetings.

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