ZIMBABWE: BILL CORCORANprofiles Morgan Tsvangirai who, despite some ill-judged and undemocratic actions, has united Zimbabweans in support of his campaign.
For Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, the tantalising prospect of a victory over President Robert Mugabe, Africa's oldest dictator, represents a huge reversal of fortunes on little over a year ago.
In early 2007, Tsvangirai's days in politics appeared numbered as images of his battered and bruised face were beamed around the world following a torture session, in which he received a fractured skull, at the hands of Mugabe's henchmen. They had picked him up during a political rally disguised as a massive "prayer meeting".
At the time, his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party was also in turmoil following a 2005 split that can be traced to a disagreement with his national executive committee over its decision not to participate in local elections for the new senate.
When the vote went against Tsvangirai, he stormed out of the meeting and proceeded to lie to the press, telling reporters waiting outside that the committee had in fact supported his position. He continued to hold the view that the senate should be contested even when the majority of Zimabweans saw it as a waste of time.
Zimbabwe analyst Chris Maroleng of South Africa's Institute for Security Studies says his refusal to comply with the decision of the party's national council was a worrying development and called into question his allegiance to democratic principles.
"In one fell swoop, the leader of the opposition seemed to turn his back on the founding democratic principles of the MDC. Not surprisingly, the president's attempt to overrule the national council decision was viewed as undemocratic by his critics and party rivals, led by Welshman Ncube and the deputy president Gibson Sibanda," he said.
Many people also believe the former trade unionist should have taken the blame for his party's failure to act decisively following the alleged rigging of the country's elections in 2002 and 2005 by Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party. Following 2002, it froze and did nothing and, in 2005, went to the courts, but a decision has still not been made on the allegations of rigging.
While supporters of the 56-year-old politician believe his character traits of bravery, likeability and determination are the forces that have united the country behind him, his critics maintain he makes too many tactical errors and lacks a "killer punch" to be a successful politician. Indeed, it can be argued that it is the Mugabe regime's incredible cruelty, brutality and economic mismanagement - and the decision of many of Zimbabwe's dissenting voices to seek a life outside the dictatorship - that have propelled Tsvangirai to the position he now finds himself in.
In the run-up to these elections, local observers maintained that if Tsvangirai failed to make the most of this election he would be a spent force within the MDC. Maroleng believes the thanks for Tsvangirai's political resurrection can be delivered to his nemesis's door.
"Zimbabweans are suffering like never before in terms of social and economic decline and this has laid the foundation for the popular disaffection that has Morgan Tsvangirai as its figurehead. It is the basis for his rise from the ashes. The engagement of the Southern African Development Community in Zimbabwe's electoral process - they insisted votes were counted at the polling stations and then posted outside - has also created a situation in which the MDC can flourish," he told The Irish Times.
Prior to being appointed as leader of the newly-formed MDC in 1999, Tsvangirai was the secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions where he was described as being friendly, assertive and a born leader.
Although he left school at 16 with only a very basic education, he re-engaged with the education system in the 1990s and graduated from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2001 with a diploma in the executive leaders in development programme.
Despite successfully leading a campaign that defeated an attempt by Mugabe to introduce a draft constitution in 2000, his record in terms of how he handles his party and its members is poor.
Members of the MDC breakaway faction describe him as indecisive and prone to changing his views when a resolute stance is needed. They also say he can be weak when it comes to ensuring party members stay within the bounds of the law.
In 2004, thugs loyal to Tsvangirai's inner circle of advisers carried out numerous assaults on their internal party opponents who had questioned the direction in which the struggle against Mugabe was going. When appeals came for Tsvangirai to intervene and stop the violence, the MDC leader ignored them.
But to overlook Tsvangirai's ability to persevere in the face of massive adversity would be an injustice and, while he may have been politically naive in previous elections, there is no doubt that, to date in this election campaign, the MDC appears to have learned from past failings.
But is he the right man to lead Zimbabwe out of its current crisis and restore the Southern African country to its one-time position of "the breadbasket of Africa"?
Maroleng has his doubts: "Tsvangirai has no experience in government and, more importantly, he is going to have to be able to engage with the security forces effectively if the country is going to get through even the next few months.
"One would have to worry because he has been seen as a polarising figure in his own party, so how is he going to bring those in Zanu-PF and his own party together for the betterment of the country? He is known for not listening to dissenting voices and that is a real cause for concern," he said.