Zimbabwes army chief has told soldiers they must leave the military if they do not vote for incumbent President Robert Mugabe in Junes run-off poll for the Predicency, BBC online reports Saturday.
Chief-of-staff Maj Gen Martin Chedondo said soldiers had signed up to protect Mr Mugabes principles of defending the revolution, state media reported.
Zimbabwes generals have in the past vowed never to support the main opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, if he is elected in the 27 June run-off election.
– Soldiers are not apolitical; only mercenaries are apolitical. We should therefore stand behind our commander-in-chief, said the general.
The army denies reports by human rights groups that soldiers have been involved in instigating attacks on government opponents since the first round of voting on 29 March, which saw no overall winner emerge.
The oppositionMDC says more than 50 of its members have been killed and thousands more forced to flee their homes since the first round. Most of Zimbabwes generals are veterans of the conflict that led to independence in 1980.
