Witnesses are reporting low voter turnout in Zimbabwe, where PresidentRobert Mugabe is the only candidate taking part in Friday'scontroversial presidential runoff.
Opposition leader MorganTsvangirai withdrew from the race earlier this week, saying violenceagainst his supporters made the vote impossible. At a news conferencein the capital, Harare Friday, he denounced the runoff as an "exercisein mass intimidation."
Earlier, he urged supporters to boycott the poll but said they should vote if their lives were in danger.
Witnessessay turnout has been strong at two Harare polling stations, Mbare andHarare South, but that other stations have seen only a trickle ofvoters. Many residents say ruling party militia have threatened themwith harm if they do not vote.
President Mugabe cast his ballot Friday in the Highfields section of Harare. He told reporters he felt "optimistic."
The84-year-old president rejected calls from the West and fellow Africanleaders to postpone the election because of the violence.
Theopposition Movement for Democratic Change says 86 of its supportershave been killed and thousands more injured in what it calls a campaignof intimidation by the ruling ZANU-PF party.
Human rights groups and U.S. ambassador James McGee have reported similar findings of ruling party violence.
Mr. Mugabe and his allies reject the accusations and blame the MDC for the violence.
Mr.Tsvangirai defeated Mr. Mugabe in the first round of elections March29. However, official results showed him falling just short of themajority needed to avoid a runoff.