aspects of our past that hinder national integration. It should further be supported by a clear accessible and popularly understood mechanism for arbitration on and enforcement of constitutional rights.10 What is significant about this convention was that instead of just making demands and outlining the same traditional problems workers had discussed in the past, the convention talked of the need for “a strong, democratic, popularly driven and organized movement of the people”. The convention thus resolved “to take these issues to the people across the country, to mobilize them towards the working people’s agenda, and to implement a vigorous and democratic political movement for change”.11 On 7 August 1999, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) at an Extra-Ordinary Congress held in Harare at ZESA Training Centre, adopted the National Working People’s Convention Declaration unanimously. This declaration led to the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on 11 September 1999. At its inaugural congress, the MDC adopted the Manifesto and Programme for Change which among other things stated that it would “promote a process of truth, justice and reconciliation to build national integration, based on the culture of tolerance and respect for human rights and on the exchange of understanding between our different cultures”.12 The Manifesto made reference to the Matabeleland massacres which “brought death, arbitrary torture and deprivation of an unarmed civilian population” and which were aimed at “establishing authoritarian rule and dominance by the ruling party over all ethnic groups”. The Manifesto also stated that the Unity Accord of 1987 had brought peace but not reconciliation, and that it had avoided the substantial issues that needed to be addressed in integrating all the people of Zimbabwe into one nation. In February 2000, the government presented to the people the Draft Constitution produced by the Constitutional Commission. Civil society rejected both the content and the process that produced the draft. Among other concerns, the draft left too much executive power untouched. The commissioners were appointed by the President and were accountable to him, and there were no proper safeguards to protect the people’s input. Civil society, led by the NCA, campaigned against the draft and delivered a 55% “No” vote. In the same year, about thirty non-governmental organizations came together to form the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) to push for a democratic electoral environment. The coalition was soon faced with the task of analysing the electoral field and documenting electionrelated abuses and violations. It would soon be flooded with various reports and complaints of violence and irregularities. Its work would become critical in pushing for electoral transparency and accountability. Taking Transitional Justice to the People – Outreach Report 7