Harare — As the fallout over the dramatic pull out from the Friday presidential election run-off by Zimbabwe's main opposition leader intensified, President Robert Mugabe's government scrambled to repair the damage caused to its electoral system by almost two months of unchecked political violence.

The United Nations Security Council declared on Monday that if the election went ahead despite the pull out by Mr Mugabe's rival, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai on allegations of mounting violence against his supporters, it could not be considered legitimate.

Police began forcefully taking opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters hiding in safe houses in the capital Harare to so-called rehabilitation centers "for their protection."

They also assured the MDC leader, Mr Tsvangirai, arrested five times inside one month before announcing his withdrawal from the discredited election on Sunday that he would not be detained before the poll.

This was after Mr Tsvangirai sought refugee at the Dutch Embassy amid reports that he had received fresh threats to his life from militant ruling party supporters blamed for the deaths of 86 opposition supporters and the displacement of 200 000 since the March elections.