Mugabe facing toughest electoral challenge of his 22 years in office.

Byline: Laurie Goering

HARARE, Zimbabwe _ Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's independence hero and longtime leader, "has gone bonkers," says South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

In recent months Zimbabwe's once widely respected 78-year-old president has pushed through the legislature a host of restrictive new laws banning public rallies and limiting criticism of his government. Observers of this weekend's presidential elections have seen their cars stoned, and at least 14 people have died in an intimidation campaign allegedly organized by the government.

Facing the toughest electoral challenge of his 22 years in office, Mugabe clings to the belief that Zimbabwe cannot achieve its goals without him. He paints the election as a choice between continued black independence and the handover of power to the country's white minority, which backs his opponent.

"We made a mistake when we showed mercy to those who are hard-hearted, permanently hard-hearted," the president said recently. "When you show non-racialism to die-hard racists. ... You are acting as a fool."

Critics charge that the real threat to the nation is Mugabe's own dismantling of democratic…