BINDURA (Zimbabwe) - ZIMBABWE'S President Robert Mugabe refused on Saturday to bow to calls to step down, calling on his supporters to unite in future elections.

'It doesn't matter what happens, Zimbabwe is my country,' the veteran leader told delegates at the end of his Zanu-PF party's 10th annual conference. 'They now want to topple the Mugabe government.

'Mugabe must go because Bush is going,' he said, referring to outgoing US President George Bush, who has called for his resignation and leaves office due to term limits in January.

'Zimbabweans will refuse that one of their sons must accompany Bush to his political death,' the 84-year-old said in a speech that lambasted familiar targets: Western powers and land reform.

Mr Mugabe urged his party to remain united to avoid a repeat of its historic election defeat in March, when the opposition Movement for Democracy (MDC) won control of parliament.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai also finished ahead in the presidential election's first round, but he handed the presidency to Mr Mugabe when he pulled out of a second round, citing violence against his supporters.

'We don't want to be shamed again like what happened in March. If elections are called we should be confident of victory,' Mr Mugabe said.

'The message from the meeting that we must be united against all forces of disunity, all forces within and outside the country that seek to destroy our oneness.'

Wrapping up his speech, Mr Mugabe broke into an often repeated slogan: 'Zimbabwe will never be ...' he chanted as the crowd completed with '...a colony again'.

Zanu-PF and the MDC have failed to implement a power-sharing deal reached after the elections in which Mr Mugabe would remain president while Mr Tsvangirai would become prime minister.

Mr Mugabe threatened earlier this month to hold elections 'in the next one-and-a-half to two years' if the power-sharing arrangement fails. -- AFP