Speaking to the BBC as he celebrates his 90th birthday in London, Mandela drew a parallel between the crisis in Zimbabwe and the ‘continuing tragedy in Darfur’.

However, Mandela did not say a word about his successor’s diplomacy which analysts consider to be too quiet and even absent.

Mandela’s condemnation comes as southern African leaders ended an emergency meeting in Mbambane, Swaziland to discuss Zimbabwe crisis. A statement issued a the end of the summit says that the leaders have called for the elections to be postponed because of the on-going violence and that such a condition would not allow for a free and fair election.

Despite warnings coming from all over the world, Mugabe has maintained Friday’s poll, where he is the single candidate as rival Morgan Tsvangirai has pulled out following political violence.