A senior official of the Southern African Development Community said Friday that the regional grouping will have 400 election observers in Zimbabwe by June 20.

The SADC official heading the observer force in Zimbabwe, Tanki Mothae, director of SADC's organ on politics, defense and security, told civic leaders and opposition officials that 300 of those observers would be in the country by Saturday.

Sources who attended a meeting Friday with Mothae said that his team acknowledged the political violence which has mounted in the country since a first election round on March 29, and described the electoral process as "complex."

Program Officer Itai Zimunya of the Southern Africa Resource Watch told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the SADC team will engage the ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to try to restore calm to the violence-plagued country before the ballot.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...