Zimbabwe's electoral commission says the run-off between President Robert Mugabe and challenger Morgan Tsvangirai will not be held within two weeks as required by law.
In remarks published by the state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper, commission chief George Chiweshe said it is likely officials will extend the period in which the vote can be held. But the paper quotes him as saying officials want to hold the election as early as possible.
Mr. Tsvangirai announced Saturday that he would take part in the run-off, saying the vote should be held by May 24.
He said international observers should be allowed to monitor the vote, and he also demanded the presence of regional peacekeepers.
Zimbabwe's Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa rejected any conditions, saying the vote will be held within the framework of the country's electoral laws.
Mr. Tsvangirai was in Angola late Saturday to discuss the possibility of peacekeepers with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Mr. dos Santos heads the security committee of the South African Development Community.
Mr. Tsvangirai has been outside Zimbabwe since shortly after the March 29 election.
His party, the Movement for Democratic Change, says Mugabe supporters are conducting a terror campaign against MDC activists. The president's ZANU-PF party denies the charges and accuses the MDC of carrying out its own attacks.
Today, authorities arrested at least 56 MDC activists on charges of public violence in Shamva, north of the capital, Harare.
Mr. Tsvangirai maintains he won an outright victory in the March presidential vote. Zimbabwe's electoral commission says he finished ahead of President Mugabe, but fell short of the majority needed to avoid a run-off.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
