African vote monitors invited by President Robert Mugabe to observe elections being questioned by his Western critics said on Wednesday that a fair poll was important for Zimbabwe and the region.

The head of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community observer mission dismissed European Union concerns that the vote was unlikely to be free and fair, saying it was wrong to pre-judge the process.

Mugabe, facing his biggest electoral challenge since coming to power 28 years ago, barred observers from Western countries he accuses of seeking to oust his ZANU-PF party.

The 120-member regional mission is the largest observer team to the March 29 presidential, parliamentary and local government elections, and its head, Angolan Foreign Minister Joao de Miranda, said on Wednesday its duty was to promote democracy.

"We hope these elections will be the most transparent and most fair elections," he said at the launch of the mission, adding: "We hope the result will reflect the political consensus of Zimbabweans."

Asked how SADC could ensure a democratic election in a country whose polls have been hotly disputed in the past, Miranda said:

"We need to believe in our capacity...and it is important that SADC takes (into account) the political integrity of its region, the peace, stability, the solidarity."

"Our mission is the advance of the principle of democratic elections... That is also what is expected of the Zimbabwe people," he said.

On the EU reservations that Zimbabwe's current political and economic situation could endanger the holding of a free and fair election, Miranda suggested the Western bloc was wrong.

"Those who are saying that, are not on the ground," he said.

Zimbabwe said last week Mugabe's government had selected 47 foreign observer teams, mostly from Africa and Asia, "on the basis of reciprocity, objectivity and impartiality in their relationship with Zimbabwe."

The most important election contest will be between Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, former ally Simba Makoni and old rival Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the biggest faction of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Critics say Mugabe has rigged elections since 2000 to cling to power but the veteran Zimbabwean leader denies the charge.

Mugabe accuses Western countries, especially Britain and the United States, of sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy and working with the opposition to oust him over his controversial policy of seizing white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks.