Zimbabwe prepares for June 27 run-off

HARARE, Zimbabwe, May 17 (UPI) -- Zimbabwe was preparing Saturday for a presidential election run-off after a June 27 date was set for the next round of the hotly contested political struggle.

The government announced the run-off date Friday. Challenger Morgan Tsvangirai has vowed to defeat President Robert Mugabe, who admitted the first-round election results in March had been "disastrous" for his long-ruling Zanu-PF party, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The June 27 election date fell just within a deadline imposed by Zimbabwe's election commission, meaning there will be less likelihood of legal challenges from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party, the British newspaper reported.

Mugabe's supporters allegedly have launched a campaign of violence since the first-round results, according to the newspaper. Analysts believe it is intended to intimidate voters into abandoning their loyalty to Tsvangirai by forcing them from their homes so they will not be able to reach the polls.

Mugabe, however, has blamed the violence on Tsvangirai's backers.