Harare — Zanu-PF has urged Zimbabweans to campaign peacefully for the presidential election run-off and desist from violence.

The party is also encouraging its supporters and members to mobilise each other to vote for President Mugabe and help to defend Zimbabwe's sovereignty and the land reform programme.

Although the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has not yet announced dates for the second round of voting, Zanu-PF is already mobilising its supporters for the presidential run-off.

Party national secretary for information and publicity Cde Nathan Shamuyarira yesterday said Zanu-PF was urging its members to avoid violence and was preaching tolerance.

Violence would not benefit any Zimbabwean and would in fact destroy the entire economic, social and political gains achieved over the last 28 years of independence.

"We are urging our members to avoid violence. We are urging our people to go and campaign and vote peacefully. We are also urging the opposition to avoid violence and respect people's lives," he said.

Cde Shamuyarira said calls by some Western powers urging people to resort to violence to remove the Government were unfortunate and shameful.

There was a deliberate move by some Western powers to make Southern Africa a theatre of civil wars as has happened to Iraq.

"Our people should know that the said intervention by the British and Americans is not meant to help the ordinary Zimbabweans but meant to further the interests of the British and Americans. They want Southern Africa to be a theatre of war and confusion so that they are able to tap into our resources," he said.

Cde Shamuyarira said Zimbabweans should refuse to be drawn into war saying supporters of both Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC-T were Zimbabweans who should not be divided by outside influence.

"This is our country. This is our Zimbabwe. This is our nation. We should all respect the leadership of our country. If one party wins and another loses, it is a party for Zimbabweans. We should continue to live and work together as brothers and sisters," he said.

Cde Shamuyarira said Zanu-PF was confident of winning the presidential run-off and was looking beyond the voting day.

The party was encouraging all its members to go out and vote adding that many of the party's supporters did not vote on March 29 because they assumed there was no threat to Zanu-PF rule.

"We urge all our members to vote for President Mugabe -- a man who has transformed this country from being a colony to an independent, sovereign and dynamic state," he said.

Cde Shamuyarira condemned what he termed double standards by the MDC-T, which he accused of beating up people and parading them to the foreign Press as victims of a Zanu-PF onslaught on opposition supporters.