Mugabe's challengers would have been given the upper hand in the political conflict, and it might have been taken for granted inside Zimbabwe and the SADC that Mugabe would not and should not contest this round of elections.
Mugabeho vyzývatelé by tak dostali sanci a v Zimbabwe ani v SADC by nikdo nemohl nic namítat proti tomu, že se Mugabe těchto voleb jako kandidát nezúčastní.