Election reform plan looks shaky as army backs Robert Mugabe

Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba said Mr Mugabe, 87, was a father figure who should stay in power for life.

"Has anyone ever changed his or her father just because he is old?" he asked. "He is the leader of our revolutionary struggle and the struggle is still on."

Mr Tsvangirai, now prime minister in a coalition government, accused the commander of fuelling a "war psychosis" in the country, where 200 opposition supporters were killed in poll violence directed by the military three years ago.

Army commanders have declared their allegiance to Mr Mugabe in a similar fashion ahead of almost all elections since 2000, when Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) emerged as the first credible opposition to the former guerrilla fighter and his Zanu-PF party. The generals have been rewarded by being given previously white-owned farms.

Mr Mugabe has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980, but now his health is failing - he has made six trips to Singapore with his wife this year alone to seek medical attention.

Indicating that the military will back Mr Mugabe's plans for a snap poll before the end of the year, even though it breaks the terms of the two-year-old power-sharing deal, Brig-Gen Nyikayaramba said the security forces wanted elections "like yesterday".

He said the MDC-run finance ministry was trying to make soldiers mutiny by denying them funds for food, medicines and uniforms.

"They don't understand the strategic benefits and importance of having a robust defence system," said Brig-Gen Nyikayaramba. As head of the much-feared Infantry 3 brigade, he was last year granted oversight of Zimbabwe's lucrative Chiadzwa diamond fields.

He said there was "no possibility" Mr Tsvangirai would win polls: "That situation will never arise and I am sure everyone (has] woken up to realise he is not the right candidate."

The comments angered Mr Tsvangirai, whose party has been insisting that security sector reform and a new constitution are necessary before further elections can be held.

Mr Tsvangirai said yesterday that Zimbabwe was being pushed into "war mode". In a speech to diplomats and rights workers, he said: "Statements by service chiefs that they will not respect the expression of the people's will … only serve to confirm the importance of vaccinating state organs from acting like political entities."

Villagers in eastern Rusape last week complained that armed soldiers were being deployed in the area, harassing and distressing residents in a terrifying echo of the 2008 election violence.The authorities said the troop movements were part of "normal training".

Analysts believe the president is now so worried about his poor health he is willing to brave local and international isolation by holding elections this year and then hand-picking a successor.