Johannesburg — SHOULD the trial of African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma go ahead as planned in August, he could still be sworn in as national president as an accused person if the ANC wins next April's election.

At the weekend, the tripartite alliance reaffirmed its support for Zuma at its summit in Midrand, saying: "We will not only be accompanying him to court, but to the Union Buildings as the next president of SA."

Zuma faces 16 charges, including corruption, and awaits the outcome of a Constitutional Court ruling which might have implications for his trial. Even if it begins on time, it is still unlikely to be over by the general election in April.

However, Zuma is likely to file for a permanent stay of execution, arguing his right to a fair trial has been compromised. This move could see a drawn out legal battle beyond the election.

The ANC's push for its deputy president, Kgalema Motlanthe, to be appointed to the cabinet has yet to materialise as President Thabo Mbeki has not acted on the party's call. The ANC decision to deploy Motlanthe is influenced in part by Zuma's legal woes and will allow Motlanthe to get an overview of the functioning of the executive ahead of the general election.

Motlanthe will most likely be the ANC's back-up should Zuma be convicted. The summit -- the first meeting of the alliance since Zuma's victory as ANC president in December -- discussed a number of issues, including rising food prices, fuel, the high levels of unemployment and poverty, health, education, crime, the electricity crises, Zimbabwe and plans for the election .

The demand by alliance partners -- the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) -- to be accommodated on a more equal footing, seems to have borne fruit.

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the union federation was "very happy" with decisions taken at the gathering. The alliance agreed to work together to formulate policy, and monitor its implementation of policy through joint alliance committees.

This decision to give capacity to these outcomes is a departure from previous alliance summits.

The ANC's readiness to accommodate Cosatu and SACP is no doubt influenced by the upcoming election . The ANC is hoping to increase its two-third majority and needs Cosatu's organisational muscle to bring out voters. The real test of the ANC's commitment to accommodate its allies will be the extent to which it takes on board their policy proposals when the new government is ushered in.

Early indications are Cosatu has won some ground as the summit agreed to support its mass action efforts next week against high food prices and the rising cost of living.

Other strides include the decision to back food subsidies to cushion the effect of price rises on the poor. It also agreed on the need to revamp and increase financial allocations to school feeding schemes as well as calling for strengthening of legislation to criminalise price-fixing.

On the Scorpions issue, the alliance welcomed progress on legislation that will see the unit incorporated into the police. However, they warned that present weaknesses should not be reproduced in the new unit to fight organised crime.