A victory for tyrant's thugs: Tsvangirai abandons bid to oust Mugabe

He pulled out of Friday's presidential run-off election yesterday, saying a free and fair poll was impossible because of escalating violence.

'We in the Movement for Democratic Change have resolved that we will no longer participate in this violent, illegitimate sham of an election process,' he said. 'We can't ask the people to cast their vote... when that vote will cost their lives.'

He added: 'Anyone that votes for me in the forthcoming election faces the very real possibility of being killed. Mugabe has declared war, and we will not be part of that war.'

Dictator Robert Mugabe, 84, looks set to cling on to power in Zimbabwe after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of a run-off

More than 100 opposition supporters were murdered during the original election campaign, according to independent human rights groups.

Tsvangirai was himself detained by police five times while campaigning, and his deputy is in jail charged with treason.

His decision to give up fighting the election  -  when the result was certain to be fixed  -  has shattered the fragile facade of democracy in the country.

There was no immediate reaction from Mugabe. The announcement clears the way for the 84-year-old to continue his rule, despite complaints from previously loyal African allies that the former independence hero has become a tyrant.

The only glimmer of hope will come if they fold under international pressure to force him to negotiate with Tsvangirai.

Bleak future: Zimbabwe riot police drive away a resident during a protest over living costs, which have soared under Mugabe's rule

The opposition leader beat Mugabe in a March 29 vote but failed to win the absolute majority needed to avoid a second ballot.

With 34,000 people displaced, 2,700 beaten and tortured, and many more robbed of their identity cards, voting in the run-off was always going to be difficult.

Mugabe undermined the legitimacy of the vote with a brazen declaration that he would not accept a win for Mr Tsvangirai.

And he appointed thugs from his militia as civil servants so they could be election officials.

He has vowed never to turn over power to the opposition, which he brands a puppet of Britain and the United States.

Tory foreign spokesman William Hague said: 'The MDC's withdrawal from the election is wholly understandable in the face of the rigging, violence, and murder perpetrated by the Mugabe regime.

'It is now clear beyond doubt that Zimbabwe is suffering under one of the world's vilest and most despotic tyrannies.'

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: 'We have reached an absolutely critical moment in the drive by the people of Zimbabwe to rid themselves of the tyrannical rule of Robert Mugabe.'

Last night the MDC said army helicopters were patrolling the skies and that Zimbabwe was effectively under military rule.

Wilf Mbanga, the UK-based editor of the independent newspaper, The Zimbabwean, said he feared the country would now be driven to civil war.

Mugabe has 'stopped pretending he is a democrat', he said.

'Now he will want to destroy the MDC once and for all. He will kill a lot of people.

'People think "if we take up arms we are going to be killed, if we don't we are going to be killed". He's actually emboldening people. People are already beginning to talk of a sort of civil war.'

Mugabe has ruled the country since it gained independence from Britain in 1980. He has presided over a ruinous slide in a once-prosperous economy, with millions fleeing to nearby states.

Tsvangirai's decision means the dictator is likely to be sworn in for another five-year term.

But he could face difficulties because the opposition won control of the parliament in March.

Sources in South Africa said they believed some form of mediation between the two men was not impossible.

'We are very encouraged that Mr Tsvangirai says he is not closing the door completely on negotiations,' said a spokesman for President Thabo Mbeki.