MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai is set to fly back to Harare on Saturday, and is due to address his parliamentary caucus in the capital to map the way forward for the impending second round of the presidential poll.

His spokesman George Sibotshiwe told us from Belfast, Northern Ireland that the MDC leader has several engagements lined up in the country this weekend. Tsvangirai was in Belfast as a keynote speaker to about 100 liberal parties attending the Liberal International conference. He met the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and other African Heads of States on the sidelines of the conference.

'Our business is finished here, so we are flying back to Southern Africa and then to Zimbabwe tomorrow (Saturday),' Sibotshiwe said.

Asked about the security concerns that initially delayed Tsvangirai's return early in the week, Sibotshiwe said; 'We're confident SADC has done everything possible to ensure our safety.'

Tsvangirai has been out of the country for more than a month following the disputed elections on 29th March. He has been on an offensive to build diplomatic pressure on Mugabe to stand down after 28 years in power. The party's director of information Luke Tamborinyoka said the party leader 'will get straight into the business of running the nation' as soon as he lands.

'After addressing members of parliament and senators in Harare he will move to Bulawayo where he will address a rally on Sunday,' Tamborinyoka said.

He said that the planned rally in Bulawayo would be the first of a series in the build-up to a run-off election between Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe, which is to be held within the next 89 days.

'The rally in Bulawayo will mark the beginning of nationwide rallies in which he will be seeing victims of political violence as well as thanking the nation for voting for change on March 29,' said Tamborinyoka.