THE national council of Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC formation on Friday at the very least left the door open to join an all-inclusive government.

More than 140 members of MDC who met in Harare resolved to join, subject to certain conditions.

Paragraph 3 of the Resolution says: "3. Given the lack of sincerity and lack of paradigm shift on the part of Zanu PF, the MDC shall participate in a new government once Constitutional Amendment No. 19 has been passed and effected into law."

The demand by the MDC restates a natural and necessary procedural requirement in terms of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the three political parties in Harare on September 15.

If Mugabe wanted to appoint a government without Constitutional Amendment No.19 that would be contrary to the letter and spirit of the GPA because he cannot appoint a Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister without the amendment.

While Mugabe could make Cabinet appointments under the current Constitution because it empowers him to do so, that however would be to defy the GPA and the Sadc troika and Summit Communiqués, which he has said he is very pleased with.

Alex Magaisa, who is based at Kent Law School, at the University of Kent in England told The Standard that by placing emphasis on Amendment No. 19, the MDC had shifted the battle from the international scene to the local platform.

"Contrary to common perception, the MDC has achieved very important results on the international scene, notwithstanding the disappointment of last week," Magaisa said. "Make no mistake about it, Mugabe has given far more than he ever thought he would this time last year. His colleagues around the world now see him in lesser light than they did a year ago. He is a diminished leader holding on to the last straws."

Magaisa said the MDC had done the right thing to re-focus the battle in Parliament, where it holds a slim majority.

"By focussing on Amendment No. 19, they have now decided to assert their parliamentary power. To understand the MDC strategy at this point, you have to appreciate that a constitutional amendment requires at least two-thirds parliamentary majority for proper passage through parliament. This means that Zanu PF cannot pass Amendment No. 19 on its terms without the support of the MDC.

"The MDC figures that it may, therefore, be able to extract concessions from Zanu PF during the likely bitter debate on Amendment No. 19. In Parliament, Zanu PF is a wounded and weaker beast and the MDC now realises that this may be a battleground in which it might have better chances."

By re-focussing on Parliament, the MDC had gone back to its roots. The shift, he said had in effect re-internalised the matter, providing a platform for internal mobilisation of the ordinary people -- something he said had been missing as the MDC focussed on international efforts.

"The net effect of the new strategy is that if Amendment No. 19 is not passed, there will be no Inclusive Government. So the MDC now has reverted to the power they could have used from day one of the GPA -- to only have the Inclusive Government by asserting their parliamentary power until their conditions have been satisfied. That indeed is where the battle has shifted."

The 140 National Council members of MDC who met in Harare resolved to reject the organ's Troika's resolution which sought to reduce the sticking points to only the Ministry of Home Affairs, saying there were many outstanding issues which had been ignored by Sadc.

Among the sticking points were the appointment of senior government officials such as governors, permanent secretaries and ambassadors.

They also referred to the non-enactment of the Constitution Amendment No. 19 and the failure to ensure the ministerial portfolios were equitably distributed.

The national executive members who met without party leader, Tsvangirai, who is holding consultative meetings in South Africa, said the regional body had merely glossed over the issues which were critical for the dialogue.

They expressed concern over failure to address their concerns over the composition and constitution of the National Security Council, a body that will replace the Joint Operations Command.

They were also alarmed by increasing reports of renewed violence, abductions and assaults on party supporters.

As the group deliberated on the Sadc resolution, the whereabouts of nine MDC activists abducted two weeks ago remained unknown.

Thokozani Khupe, the MDC-T vice-president, said Zanu PF had shown lack of both sincerity and a paradigm shift in the talks.

"Yes, we are ready for take-off (joining the unity government) but the cost has to be clear," she said.

On the threats by President Robert Mugabe to unilaterally form a unity government, Khupe said there was no way Mugabe could do so without necessary amendments to the Constitution. Such amendments could only be supported by the MDC when all the outstanding issues were resolved.

Should Mugabe unilaterally go ahead and form a government, MDC sources warned Tsvangirai could be forced to "remove his gloves" and re-start a campaign to isolate Mugabe's government.

The sources said such a process could result in more sanctions targeted against Mugabe's government at a time when Zimbabweans are facing untold hardships with inflation edging closer to the quintillion mark. The coming in of the new administration in the United States led by President-elect Barack Obama could also make things more difficult for Mugabe.

US official sources told The Standard in Washington that Obama, who has Kenyan roots, would be more interested in ensuring democracy prevailed in Zimbabwe.

On Wednesday Obama said the international community must do more to try to help resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis and to pressure Mugabe, who he said was clinging to power.

Obama singled out South Africa as one country that needs to apply more pressure on Mugabe.

"What's happening in Zimbabwe is tragic. This is a country that used to be the bread basket of Africa. Mugabe has run the economy into the ground. He has perpetrated extraordinary violence against his own people," Obama told a news conference in Chicago.