Polls opened on Friday in Zimbabwe's presidential election days after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the race.

The polls, which have been demanded to be postponed due to opposition's boycott, went on as scheduled following a ruling of the electoral commission.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on Wednesday unanimously agreed to proceed with the presidential run-off election as scheduled, saying Tsvangirai's withdrawal has no legal force since it was filed out of time.

The commission, which was appointed by the ruling Zanu-PF, the opposition MDC-T and all other political parties that contested the March 29 elections, under the SADC-brokered talks, said it has since advised Tsvangirai about the decision in writing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2008)