Mugabe, 84, faces his biggest electoral challenge later this month since independence from Britain in 1980, as his country struggles with an economic meltdown.

Gaddafi, who was visiting Uganda this week, said Mugabe and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni "should stay in power until they have solved all the problems in their countries or die while still in power".

"They should not be disturbed by elections because former colonial states want Africa to adopt their system of governance, which is not viable here," he added.

Zimbabwe experienced chronic shortages of petrol, food and other basic goods, and the official inflation was by far the highest in the world at 100 500 per cent.

Mugabe blamed the economic crisis on sanctions imposed by its former colonial ruler and its Western allies to protest violations of human and democratic rights and the often violent seizures of thousands of white-owned farms that disrupted agricultural production in the former regional breadbasket since 2000.

Elections in 2002 and 2005 won by Mugabe's ruling party were marred by administrative chaos, allegations of vote-rigging, irregularities in voters' lists and charges that violence and political intimidation influenced voting.

News24

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