The youth wing of South Africa's ANC party has vowed to support ZANU PF in its bid to win this year's election, after an appeal by the ZANU PF youth league.

The comments were made on the sidelines of a gathering of African liberation movements who are meeting in South Africa this weekend. The event is hosted by the ruling ANC and features ZANU PF, Namibia's SWAPO and others. Robert Mugabe travelled to that meeting on Thursday.

Addressing youth league leaders there, ZANU PF National Secretary for Youth Affairs, Absalom Sikhosana, urged his counterparts from the different parties to help Mugabe win the forthcoming elections. Sikhosana called the coming election "a do or die" for his party, saying the party had to win it at all costs. He said a ZANU PF win would silence the party's critics who say that it does not have enough support to beat the MDC-T at the polls.

ANC Youth League President Ronald Lamola, then stated that ZANU PF will get all the support they need from the ANC youth to secure victory in the coming poll.

Promise Mkwananzi, the Secretary General of the MDC-T Youth Assembly, said the support by the ANC Youth League for ZANU PF goes against everything legitimate liberation parties stand for.

"They are supporting a party that has gone against the same reasons why the liberation struggle was started. Liberation has been bastardised by ZANU PF," Mkwananzi said.

He added that the ANC youth should be urged to take a neutral stance in Zimbabwe, because the main wing of the party under Jacob Zuma is playing a mediation role across the border.

"As we speak Zuma is walking a thin line to unlock the crisis facing Zimbabweans. This facilitation role the ANC is playing means the youth league should remain neutral," Mkwananzi said.