Mugabe 'a hypocrite, tired election candidate' - Tsvangirai

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has lashed out at President Robert Mugabe, branding him a "hypocrite and tired election candidate" leading a group of cowards, Radio VOP reported on Friday.

Tsvangirai told journalists during his monthly prime minister's briefings he was increasingly getting annoyed by Mugabe's unpredictability when it came to adhering to agreements made during their regular meetings as principals.

Tsvangirai singled out the recent unilateral reappointment of the service chiefs by Mugabe as a case in which the aging leader had acted outside the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 19.

"We cannot have a president who takes a position with fellow principals today and then tomorrow acts outside that position and the constitution that he swore to uphold," Tsvangirai said. "I have made it clear to the president that he is in breach and that I and the party that I lead would find it difficult to recognise.

"We have a president who indicates left and then turns right. He has undermined our collective position and agreement as principals while he directs his functionaries to execute decisions that are at variance with our common position. The question is, can the real Mugabe stand up. "I know that the president continues to live in the past forgetting that this is a shared responsibility."

Tsvangirai vowed he and his party will not be pushed out of the inclusive process by Zanu-PF hardliners.