HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP):

Zimbabwe's opposition will hold rallies in the capital today, thanks to a favourable court ruling, an official said yesterday, with only weeks to go before its leader faces Robert Mugabe in a presidential runoff.

The court ruling means a police ban cannot be enforced, said Nqobizitha Mlilo, a spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change. The embattled opposition, however, suffered setbacks elsewhere, including the arrest of a prominent member.

Opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, meanwhile, spoke to small groups of voters around Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second main city.

Also yesterday, a government minister was quoted as accusing aid groups of campaigning for the opposition and using money donated by the US, among Mugabe's harshest critics, to destabilise the government.

Tsvangirai beat Mugabe and two other candidates in the first round of presidential voting March 29, but did not garner the 50 per cent plus one vote necessary to avoid a runoff.

Enthusiastic greetings

Reporters travelling with Tsvangirai on Saturday said small crowds greeted him enthusiastically. At one stop, where it appeared he had planned a rally, riot police were on hand and told him no gatherings were allowed.

Tsvangirai's spokesman, George Sibotshiwe, had said Friday that Tsvangirai was told that all party rallies in the country had been banned indefinitely.

"We have to find a way of getting word to voters under these conditions," Mlilo said Saturday. But he expressed confidence, saying Mugabe's crackdown, which local and international rights groups say has included violence, "will only strengthen the resolve of Zimbabweans to finish this regime off".

Mlilo said it was unlikely Tsvangirai would address today's rallies in Harare.