Ohh Tsvangirai! Answer the damn question you idiot.

The question is Why are people still supporting ZANU, close to 10 years after your masters imposed crippling economic sanctions with the hope of separating ZANU from the people?

By Andrew Geoghegan

For the first time in decades Zimbabwe's controversial leader, Robert Mugabe, will face a genuine challenge when his country goes to the polls next month.

The President's former finance minister, Simba Makoni, is running as an independent and is seen as a real threat to Mr Mugabe.

But Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is still the best option to replace the Mugabe regime.

Mr Tsvangirai spoke with the ABC's Africa correspondent, Andrew Geoghegan.

MT: "Practically, we could not achieve a common position with our colleagues in the other erstwhile MDC. We haven't discussed with Simba Makoni, and I hope that we'll discuss," he said.

"Unfortunately he is still ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front), and I don't know where the common ground will come about."

AG: Will you be having talks with Simba Makoni before the election?

MT: "I have not opened that avenue. I hope they will because Simba Makoni has not talked to me. I don't know whether he is going to open that debate. If there is going to be any debate that will be attended to."

AG: But realistically, do you think he has a greater chance at defeating Robert Mugabe than you do?

MT: "No, no, no. I think as an individual ... he has no institution to back his candidacy, unless he uses the ZANU-PF divisions to back his candidacy. Then it only splits the ZANU-PF, it does not split the MDC."

AG: If Robert Mugabe scrapes through and wins the election, what will your reaction be?

MT: "I will feel bad because there could have been an opportunity to remove him. But you know that he is saying that he is not going to accept the result, so what difference does it make?"

AG: You presume that the election will either be rigged or stolen, yet the people that we have spoken to within Zimbabwe say they will be voting for Robert Mugabe regardless. Why is that?

MT: "They are determined to confront the man. They are determined to confront the dictatorship. They are determined to remove the Government by the only means available to them, which is an election.

"And I think it's a good positive attribute to the Zimbabweans that they still believe in the election process as a way of removing a government, rather than resorting to violence, which has been the most characteristic of all African conflicts."

AG: But what does it say about the MDC that so many people still willing to vote for Robert Mugabe when the country is in such disarray?

MT: "Well, I'm sure that this is open to dispute, because voting for Robert Mugabe and actually analysing who has voted for him is a totally different thing.

"People did not vote Mugabe. Mugabe stole the election, read out election results that he wishes, because he is in control of a system. The reason why we are complaining that the election was stolen is because people have not voted for it."

AG: So why bother contesting it when you do predict that it will either be stolen or rigged?

MT: "It's a struggle, it's a marathon. We believe an election is an event in a long process of democratising the country, and therefore we'll pass through this event and continue with the struggle until democratic change is achieved."

AG: Boycotts have not worked, nor has diplomatic pressure. What next? What options are there for Zimbabwe if Robert Mugabe does win this election?

MT: "The struggle does not come in one form. The struggle assumes and is informed by circumstances obtaining at that time. As I said, the election is just an event. Beyond the election, the struggle continues."

AG: If Robert Mugabe wins again, then what do you predict will happen to the country? What will the people do?

MT: "It will be, as I said to somebody, it's a dead end for the country."

AG: Will it lead to violence though?

MT: "I can't predict that. There may be spontaneous reaction, I can't predict whatever the people react. But the thing is true is that there will be no solution to the crisis we face."