Zimbabwean leader set to address "Heroes' Day" celebration in Harare, amid opposition boycott over vote fraud.
Robert Mugabe will deliver his first public speech since his victory in Zimbabwe's presidential election last week.
Mugabe, 89, who won 61 per cent of the vote, will address a Heroes' Day celebration in the capital, Harare, to commemorate those who died during the country's war of independence.
"Thousands are expected to converge at various provincial and district centres countrywide to celebrate Heroes Day", The Herald newspaper reported.
"Mugabe will lead the main celebrations at the National Heroes Acre in Harare with provincial governors officiating and reading his speech in the other nine provinces", it said.
Alfred Tome, Harare Metropolitan province acting Governor, said they had completed preparations for the event, and people will be ferried to the main celebrations from their usual pick-up points, according to the newspaper.
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the defeated Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) has decided to boycott the event. He has challenged the results which he claims were "fraudulent and stolen" and demanded a re-run.
Lawyers for Tsvangirai filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court on Friday over the parliamentary and presidential election results.
The lawyers said they discovered that 870,000 names were duplicated on the voters' lists.
The MDC-T yesterday said individual members were free to attend the celebrations.
Source: Al jazeera
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