The decision on Sunday by Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to pull out of the presidential run-off election slated for today was unfortunate.

However, he had little choice in the face of the obstacles placed on his way by President Robert Mugabe and his supporters. Mr Tsvangirai's immediate explanation was that continuing with the campaign would have resulted in more violence and the probable death of some of his supporters.

President Mugabe, who came second to Mr Tsvangirai in the March 29 elections, has always maintained that Zimbabwe's serious economic, social and political problems are primarily due to hostile actions taken by "imperialist" countries, especially the UK and the USA.

If this was true and if President Mugabe cared much about the welfare and security of Zimbabweans, he should have followed Mr Tsvangirai's logic and stepped down, this would probably have spared the Zimbabweans the misery they have gone through in the last few years.

In my discussions with Zimbabweans, I have been left with the impression that President Mugabe regards himself as "president for life" and uses elections simply to gauge his popularity.

The 84-year-old Zimbabwean president has no respect for democracy, good governance and the rule of law, which puts him at odds with the principles to which the African Union adheres.

Following the March 29 parliamentary elections in which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change won more seats than President Mugabe's ZANU-PF, the president is said to have ordered the arrest and sacking of some election officials.

Besides political harassment, Zimbabweans face serious economic and social problems. Inflation increases by massive percentages every month and the country's currency has little value.

There are widespread food shortages throughout the country, and the little food that is available in the rural areas is being distributed on the basis of political affiliation. Unemployment is immeasurably high, and schools and hospitals are in extremely poor shape.

What needs to be done to improve the situation in Zimbabwe? Very little is likely to change without outside intervention. Three organisations need to consider seriously how they can take prompt action to restore democracy, resuscitate the economy and place Zimbabwe once again on the road to prosperity.

The main responsibility should be with the United Nations. The Security Council should go beyond condemning the electoral violence and pass a resolution stipulating that the presidential run-off elections should be postponed until both the candidates and their supporters are able to campaign freely.

The second organisation is the African Union. As I write, several AU member states, including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, had expressed concern about what is taking place in Zimbabwe.

The Pan-African Parliament has sent election observers to Zimbabwe, but the Union now needs to go beyond mere observation and consider immediate action, such as the suspension of Zimbabwe.

The third organisation that needs to take immediate action is the 14-member Southern African Development Community. The AU will not firmly support any move that is not initiated by the SADC, and the latter, in turn, will not act without South Africa taking the lead.

Prof Makinda is a lecturer at Murdorch University, Australia.