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The Zanu PF primaries, allowing party members to choose their candidates for local authority councils and the constituency seats in the House of Assembly, have as all election processes do produced winners and losers.

But this is democracy and Zanu PF as the party that brought democracy to Zimbabwe must obviously live up to its ideals and trust the people and its own supporters to maintain that democracy and make it ever more effective.

It must also be remembered that Zanu PF is the only real mass party in Zimbabwe, that is a party with membership rolls, a party structure largely elected by that same membership, and a party that consequently has a great deal of grassroots support.

It maintains this huge formal membership and support by ensuring that the members are real members, able to interact with the leadership and the party representatives largely because they chose that leadership and the representatives.

This differs from the other parties in Zimbabwe, which very largely have a self-appointed leadership which in turn works out the lists of council and Parliamentary nominations in a small room with zero input from the supporters they hope will vote for those candidates.

Some parties with groups of MPs and councillors do not even have members or party structure, just the self-appointed leaders.

The primaries also have a sound practical base. Zanu PF invites members in good standing who wish to contest elections for the party to submit their CVs.

These are gone through carefully, to see if those seeking national and local office meet minimum standards in the way of qualifications and party membership, open standards that apply to all.

So those who make it to the primaries have all already been approved by the party as suitable for office in councils or Parliament.

The dodgy types have been removed from the lists, those who lie about qualifications simply cannot contest, considerable effort is made to exclude those who see the party as a way to further personal ambitions.

Now comes the primary stage. Here the communities the candidates wish to represent at first in the national and local government elections, with the aim being to win the council or Parliamentary seats, can have their say.

They know the candidates, or if they do not they are not really likely to vote for them, and can make decisions about which one they wish to stand for their party.

This process is one reason why most local authorities where Zanu PF has the majority are active on furthering community interests. The councillors in a sense belong to the communities, and know it, and the communities have taken a hard extra look at those who want to represent them, more than the party itself did in ensuring that minimum standards were met although that was essential.

So we tend to find that rural district councils, most of which have Zanu PF majorities, have been extremely active in the way they deploy devolution funds for example, basically using them to back community initiatives to build schools and clinics and upgrade schools and clinics.

These very strong links between community, councillor and council, oiled by the party, work. And if a councillor is not pulling their weight the next primary will see a new councillor.

The difference with the councils that have opposition majorities is very clear, since almost anyone can be chosen as a candidate, total loyalty to a particular opposition leader trumping ability and even honesty.

We need to remember that Zanu PF is never frightened of seeing someone replaced. The party, and its old Zanu wing, replaced two leaders over the years, so those lower down cannot expect lifetime positions.

There are, despite the huge advantages of a mass party with proper membership rolls, candidate vetting and then the primary system, some difficulties.

A major one is the fact that a constituency MP has Parliamentary duties. They cannot spend every day in their constituency and must attend Parliament when this is summoned, and while the can represent their community they are also called upon to make national decisions.

MPs are also expected to serve on committees, again with national importance.

Then there are the constituency MPs who are selected to serve in Government, and need to spend their working days on national business. It has always been difficult for a minister to work out how to be with their community and with the Government.

One effective system some countries have adopted is that MPs can have a full-time agent or agents in their constituencies, a constituency office, where people who need help or have ideas can go.

This allows a fair amount of filtering, with routine MP work coped with while the MP is in Parliament or a Ministry office, but the MP also being consulted and told what is going on and where the extra muscle is really needed.

Some really effective constituency MPs from the Zanu PF stable manage this by keeping close contact with the solid block of local authority councillors in their area, and use party structures and committed party members to keep their fingers on the pulse of their constituents, and that is an extremely positive way to handle the dual functions of any MP.

Another primary problem, and this emerged at the weekend, is when you get, as is inevitable, two first class or at least way above average contestants for a single nomination.

But here provinces can build their pool of candidates for the other two sets of party Parliamentarians, the special seats for women and now youths in the National Assembly, and the provincial senators.

These nominations must not be consolation prizes; they need really good and effective candidates who can represent their province in Parliament.

When those two teams of candidates are as good as the constituency candidates then the party is stronger, so again the best in the available pool need to be chosen.

By sorting out its candidates early, Zanu PF has given itself an early start in the coming election. While formal electioneering has yet to start, the candidates need to make sure that they are leading a united party into the polls.

They need more than just acceptance of their primary wins, they need enthusiastic support, and they will show their mettle by building that enthusiasm so that they win the most important election, the national elections.