Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said yesterday he was prepared to negotiate with the ruling ZANU-PF party but only when political violence has ended.

?We are prepared to negotiate with ZANU-PF but of course it is important that certain principles are accepted before the negotiations take place. One of the preconditions is that this violence against the people must be stopped,? he said.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader will also urge Africa this week to pile pressure on President Robert Mugabe to solve the country?s political crisis after the opposition pulled out of a presidential run-off vote.

<b>Vote that coul cost lives</b>

Tsvangirai withdrew from the June 27 election saying his MDC supporters would be risking their lives it they cast their votes. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Tsvangirai would lobby the international community and African countries to put pressure on Mugabe to settle the crisis. ?Over the next two days, the (MDC) president will be explaining our decision to the world, lobbying the international community, but mainly SADC and the African Union, to put pressure on the Mugabe regime to resolve the crisis we are facing,? Chamisa said, referring to the regional grouping the Southern African Development Community. ?We need this regime to respect democracy and the will of the people,? he added.

Britain?s Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged the United Nations to hold a ?full discussion? on the issue at the Security Council session.

Australia?s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said yesterday he sympathised with Tsvangirai?s decision and his government added it was looking to increase sanctions against Zimbabwe. ?We are looking at whether we can enhance any of those and whether there are sanctions that we can bring to bear in other areas? Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Australian radio, referring to financial restrictions and visa bans for Mugabe and his associates.

Tsvangirai said there was a state-sponsored plot to keep Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, in power. ?We in the MDC cannot ask them (the voters) to cast their vote on June 27, when that vote could cost them their lives.?

There was no immediate reaction from Mugabe who in the past has blamed election violence on the opposition but Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Tsvangirai had simply quit the race because he knew he would lose. There has been growing condemnation from African countries over Zimbabwe?s political crisis and the violence which the MDC says has left 86 people dead and displaced 200,000.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, the current SADC chairman, said it was not possible to hold a free and fair election in Zimbabwe and the run-off should be postponed «to avert a catastrophe in this region.»

?Stop genocide?

Tsvangirai called on the UN and the African Union to intervene to ?stop genocide? in the former British colony.

In Washington, a White House spokesman said Mugabe?s government must stop the violence immediately while Britain said the people had deserted Mugabe.

Thabo Mbeki, president of leading regional power South Africa, said he would encourage Mugabe and Tsvangirai to discuss the political crisis. ?From our point of view it is still necessary that the political leadership of Zimbabwe should get together and find a solution to the challenges that face Zimbabwe,? said Mbeki, who is mandated by SADC to mediate between the MDC and ZANU-PF.

Tsvangirai has been detained by police five times while campaigning. The opposition party said army helicopters were patrolling over Harare and Bulawayo, the second city, and that Zimbabwe was effectively under military rule.

More than 2,000 youth members of Mugabe?s ruling ZANU-PAF party were on the rampage, attacking citizens in central Harare, the MDC said.

Mugabe has vowed never to turn over power to the opposition, which he brands a puppet of Britain and the United States. He has in the past denied that his security forces have been responsible for brutal actions.

Once Tsvangirai officially pull outs, Mugabe would then be sworn in for another five-year term. But he could face difficulties governing as the MDC won control of the Parliament in a March election.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ?

■ What are the consequences of Tsvangirai?s withdrawal?

Mugabe would be sworn in for a new five-year term in office, but he will face problems governing and passing legislation, as his ZANU-PF lost control of parliament to the opposition for the first time in a parallel vote on March 29.

Zimbabwe?s economic crisis is likely to worsen, and analysts say there will be few prospects of serious political change. The exodus of millions of migrants to neighbouring countries, including South Africa, could accelerate.

The risks that poses for the region were highlighted by recent attacks on African migrants in South Africa.

The Zimbabwean leader and his senior officials are likely to be slapped with a new round of targeted sanctions by the European Union, Britain and the United States, which have criticised his authoritarian rule and handling of the election campaign.

■ What has happened during the campaign?

Since Tsvangirai returned to Zimbabwe on May 24, he has been detained five times by police while on the campaign trial. His lieutenant, Tendai Biti, is in custody facing treason and other charges.

The MDC says at least 70 of its supporters have been killed by ZANU-PF militia and security forces and thousands of anti-Mugabe opponents and voters have been beaten or harassed. Mugabe blames the opposition for the bloodshed.

The Zimbabwean leader has branded the MDC a puppet of Britain and the United States and vowed to never allow it take power. State media has virtually ignored the MDC campaign and refuses to run its advertisements.

■ How fair would the vote have been?

The MDC, rights groups, some African nations, the United States and former colonial power Britain said they did not believe the poll would have been free and fair because of the escalating violence.

The Southern African Development Community, a regional grouping of 14 nations including Zimbabwe, had sent about 400 observers to monitor the run-off, which will not take place. No observers from Western nations are being allowed into Zimbabwe.

■ Who was likely to win the run-off?

On the face of it, Tsvangirai appeared to be in a dominant position to win a free election after defeating Mugabe in the first round.

But the climate of violence and intimidation has made this prospect impossible.

■ What if Tsvangirai had won?

Pledges from the United States and other Western nations to inject billions of dollars into Zimbabwe if there had been a new, government that embraces democracy and free markets could have tempted voters to back Tsvangirai.

The MDC leader had not spelled out how he would ease Zimbabwe?s economic crisis ? marked by severe shortages of basic goods and the world?s highest inflation rate of 165,000 %.

■ What about the prolonged political deadlock?

The MDC and trade unions could call for street protests to pressure Mugabe?s government to step down, raising the prospect of a worsening of the political violence that has gripped the nation in the past three months.

Zimbabwe could slip at least briefly into the kind of violence that affected Kenya after its disputed December election, although Mugabe?s security forces are likely to quickly end unrest.