Madhuku Lovemore argues that Simba Makoni is hijacking the Zimbabwean struggle and will only entrench ZANU-PF type politics and suggests that no matter how flawed, Tsvangirai represents the best chance for change.

The emergence of the Simba Makoni "initiative/project" has raised justifiable questions about the direction of the continuing quest by Zimbabweans to end the dictatorship of the ZANU-PF regime and usher in a genuinely democratic dispensation.

One such question is: how should civic society relate to the initiative? More fundamentally, should it be the business of civic society organisations to pronounce their preferences among contesting presidential aspirants?

I have decided to take a few hours from my activist work and put pen to paper to address some of the pertinent issues arising from the Makoni "initiative/project".

In doing this, I am neither wearing the hat of an academic nor putting on the spectacles of the proverbial analyst. I am here articulating the views of a civic society activist who, since 1997, has been part of a movement that has certain beliefs, values and principles.

Accordingly, the views and positions expressed herein are partisan in that they are controlled by the beliefs, values and principles for which I have been an activist in the past 10 years. The starting point is to put my cards on the table. Based on the values and beliefs of the movement I belong to, the Makoni "initiative/project" is fundamentally misconceived. It will fail. It has no grassroots support. It misunderstands the nature of the responses required to address our deepening political crisis.

The founding stone of the initiative is the March 29 harmonised election. The planners believe that on March 29, Makoni will capture power from President Robert Mugabe through an electoral process presided over by none other than the President himself. To them, the reason why President Mugabe is still in power is because those who have challenged him in previous elections did it prematurely and lacked the requisite credentials, support and strategies. The time has now come, a person with the requisite credentials has been found and the support from appropriate circles is also available. According to them, President Mugabe is a democrat who respects electoral processes and will hand power to whoever is elected on March 29.

Makoni and his backers believe that peaceful street protests, stay aways and grassroots meetings advocating fundamental reforms such as a new, democratic and people driven constitution are inappropriate and misguided. All that matters is a carefully planned electoral strategy that "ambushes" (President) Mugabe and takes power away from him through the ballot.

The response to this approach is simple: the March 29, elections are being conducted under a defective constitution whose raison d'etre is to preserve the status quo. Elections under the current constitution cannot deliver change whatever the credentials of the contestants and however sophisticated their strategies.

Until Zimbabweans put their energies together and push the current regime to embrace a genuine and people-driven reform process that leads to a democratic constitution, power will not change hands through a mere election. Participation in the elections on March 29 cannot be for the purpose of winning power. It can only be for any other good reasons.

This brings me to the question of the day: if power cannot change hands under the current constitution, why are all major civic groups, including the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), urging people to go and vote on March 29?

Different civic groups may have different reasons for urging people to go and vote. For the NCA, March 29 will not deliver a new President but it provides a platform for Zimbabweans to make a statement against the Mugabe regime's sins, which include being the author of the suffering of the people and above all, its refusal to embrace democratic reforms.

Casting a vote against (President) Mugabe on March 29 is a peaceful protest against dictatorship and a key step in the post election agenda of confronting that dictatorship and advocating for genuine democratic reforms. But the vote on March 29 is not just against (President) Mugabe. It must be a statement in support of a set of values, beliefs and principles, which guide our post-election struggle for change in Zimbabwe.

It is in this context that the presidential candidature of Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) gains a windfall. The MDC was launched in September 1999 as a result of the deliberations of a Working People's Convention of February 1999. That Convention was convened by the ZCTU and was attended by most civic groups. The NCA played a key role at the Convention. At its launch in September 1999, the MDC had two main parents: the labour movement and the constitutional reform movement.

The MDC was formed as a political wing of these two movements to pursue, as a political party, the values and principles that these two movements represented. For example, the ZCTU would expect the MDC, as a political party, to fight for labour friendly policies. Similarly, the NCA expects the MDC to advocate for a new, democratic and people-driven constitution.

Thus, since 1999, there has existed a family: the labour movement, the constitutional reform movement and the political party mothered by these two movements. Each member of the family is a separate entity and independent from the others. The MDC is partisan.

The other movements are non-partisan. Like every other family, certain core family values are shared. In this particular family, the most important value is that Zimbabwe's political system must be transformed through people-driven processes and that a new, democratic and people driven constitution must anchor that transformation. The family is convinced that a "reformed ZANU-PF" is not the answer because it does not seek transformation.

The family has had its own problems. The MDC has not been consistent in defending family values. On many occasions, it has disappointed the family. There are two most recent disappointments. The first is its support for Amendment 18. It is common knowledge that the other family members were outraged by that misguided endorsement of piecemeal constitutional reforms. The second disappointment is the MDC's participation in this election under a defective constitution. The family's preference is "No elections without a new, democratic and people-driven constitution".

However, notwithstanding these disappointments, the family is agreed on the bigger picture of transforming Zimbabwe through people-driven processes. Whatever his weaknesses, Tsvangirai's presidential candidature symbolizes the founding values of our movement. Elections on March 29, being held under the current constitutional arrangements, will not make anyone other than (President) Mugabe, the president. Accordingly, a vote for either Morgan Tsvangirai or Simba Makoni can only be for other good reasons. For our family, our good reason is to support our kind of politics. It is to demonstrate that our kind of politics has the greatest support in the country and must therefore be vigorously pursued in the post-election period.

Our good reason is to use March 29 to set the agenda for the post-election period. As these elections cannot deliver a change of government, the competition between Tsvangirai and Simba Makoni is, to be blunt, "for No. 2 position." President Mugabe's "No. 1 position" is secured by the absence of a free and fair election. He has no genuine support. However, the competition for the "No. 2 position" is serious business. Making a choice between Simba Makoni and Morgan Tsvangirai is a big political statement, reflecting one's position as to the way forward in the current crisis. Morgan Tsvangirai represents the route we have been following since 1997. He is, as a person, not the answer. He represents the answer and must be supported.

A vote for Tsvangirai's presidential bid is a statement against a "reformed ZANU-PF" agenda. It is important that this statement be made against Simba Makoni and his group because their set of beliefs distorts our post-election agenda of a total assault against the system. This group does not believe in transformation – all they want is to replace (President) Mugabe. These ZANU-PF reformists have no post election agenda because they only have one plan: to win and govern. They are irrelevant in a post-election setting focusing on transformation. They do not believe in our methods. Fortunately, because of our grassroots presence, March 29 will show that the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans support a total transformation of the system presided over by (President) Mugabe and not a mere tinkering with it They will reject the Simba Makoni initiative. Makoni will be a distant third in the presidential race. The situation will remain what it is today with one solution – pushing for a genuine people-driven transformation and free and fair elections under a new democratic constitution.

*Lovemore Madhuku is the National Constituent Assembly chairman in Zimbabwe.

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