[10] Angolan Foreign Minister João Bernardo de Miranda said on the same day that SADC would increase the number of observers it was sending for the second round "so as to assure greater transparency and trust in the process".
[11] On the same day, three people, including two South Africans, were arrested in Bulawayo after police found broadcasting and computer equipment belonging to Sky TV, a British television network, hidden in a factory.
[12] Rather than endorse a candidate, Makoni called for the cancellation of the second round and the formation of a national unity government at a press conference on 29 May 2008, saying that this was urgently needed to prevent further violence.
[15] Meanwhile, it was reported by Michael Gerson, a columnist for The Washington Post, a US newspaper, that Mbeki had sent a letter to Bush in April complaining about the US attitude towards Zimbabwe and its involvement in the situation.
After the hearing on 3 June, he described his own suffering as minor compared to that of the people, saying that Mugabe's "human rights violations" would fail to accomplish their goals and vowing that "we will triumph over evil".
[31] On 5 June 2008, diplomats and local embassy staff from the US and UK investigating political violence were detained at a roadblock in the town of Bindura, 50 miles (80 km) from Harare, by police and military officers.
[32][33] Subsequently, Deputy Information Minister Matonga gave the government's account of the incident: he said that the diplomats had addressed a gathering at the home of an MDC member and that police arrived at the scene due to commotion.
They denied these accusations, and the administrator of one of them, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), criticised the suspension as "a direct threat to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of innocent people in Zimbabwe".
Among the possibilities reportedly discussed was a national unity government in which Mugabe would remain President while Tsvangirai would take up a newly created post of Prime Minister, similar to the arrangement devised to resolve the Kenyan crisis earlier in 2008.
Bvudzijena said that Biti would additionally be charged with making false statements "prejudicial to the state" due to his announcement of election results prior to their release by the Electoral Commission.
[55] In an open letter on 13 June 39 prominent figures in Africa—including Kofi Annan, former heads of state, and civic leaders—called for a free and fair election, stressing that this was "crucial for the interests of both Zimbabwe and Africa".
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown described the Zimbabwean government as a "criminal cabal" and denied the possibility of a free and fair election under the existing circumstances, saying that international observers needed to be freely admitted.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame was also critical, condemning the suggestions from ZANU-PF that it might not relinquish power if defeated,[64] while Jacob Zuma also doubted that the election would be free and fair.
The party also challenged the police ban on MDC rallies, as well as the practice of having members of the security forces vote early by postal ballot while their superior officers were present.
[72] Chamisa also said that four MDC activists, allegedly abducted by ZANU-PF supporters on 17 June, had been found dead in Chitungwiza, near Harare; he placed the party's death toll up to that point at "about 70".
[66] Meanwhile, Mugabe, campaigning in Matabeleland North, said in reference to land reform that he would be ready to retire when he believed that "this legacy is truly in your hands [and] people are empowered"; he said that he treasured all Zimbabwean soil and could not allow it to be given back to the British.
[76] Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri said on 20 June that the MDC was primarily responsible for the violence, alleging that the party was using its Democratic Resistance Committees to intimidate voters in an effort "to influence the outcome of the elections".
[77] On the same day, Chamisa suggested that the MDC might withdraw from the election, saying that there was "a huge avalanche of calls and pressure from supporters across the country, especially in the rural areas", expressing opposition to taking part in the run-off under the circumstances.
[78] Meanwhile, in a draft statement on 20 June, the EU said that it was prepared "to take additional measures against those responsible for violence", which was viewed as a threat to impose stronger sanctions on Zimbabwe.
[79] After a planned MDC rally in Harare on 22 June was prevented by ZANU-PF supporters,[75] Tsvangirai announced at a press conference on the same day that he was withdrawing from the election due to the violence.
[80][81] According to Tsvangirai, a free and fair election was impossible for eight basic reasons: "state-sponsored violence" ("The police have been reduced to bystanders while Zanu PF militia commit crimes against humanity varying from rape, torture, murder, arson, abductions and other atrocities.
According to Chinamasa, Tsvangirai had only been prepared for a "sprint", not a "marathon", and by leaving the country for a substantial period—"globe-trotting and gallivanting in Europe"—he had enabled ZANU-PF to take the advantage in campaigning.
Additionally, Chinamasa claimed that Tsvangirai had promised 1,000 United States dollars to each of his polling agents after the first round, but had failed to pay this amount to many of them, leading them to abandon him; he also alleged that MDC supporters were wearing ZANU-PF symbols while attacking people.
He also indicated that he did not anticipate leaving the Dutch Embassy in the near future, saying that he was "the prime target" and would not "take chances" regarding his safety; he claimed that the rule of law did not exist in Zimbabwe.
He has also talked to other African leaders (especially South Africa) on this issue and said that the elections should take place only when the conditions are conducive to a free and fair vote, adding that the situation in Zimbabwe at the moment was the "single greatest challenge to regional stability.
[75] On 25 June, SADC called for the election to be delayed and for "meaningful talks" to take place between ZANU-PF and the MDC, stating that "the people of Zimbabwe can solve their own problems".
[92] Representatives of South Africa's ruling African National Congress party rejected the idea of foreign intervention into Zimbabwean affairs, especially by the former colonial powers.
Tsvangirai denounced the vote, describing it as "an exercise in mass intimidation", and called on other countries to not recognise the results, saying that to do so would mean "denying the will of the Zimbabwean people and standing in the way of a transition that will deliver peace and prosperity".
[107] Although the AU summit called for dialogue and a national unity government, it declined to adopt the kind of tough measures against Zimbabwe that were favoured by Western countries.
[110] In early August, the Supreme Court ruled that the Electoral Commission's refusal to accept the nomination papers of Zimbabwe People's Party leader Justine Chiota was unlawful.