A common political weakness in the run-up to elections is one-dimensional thinking. Virtually all political events tend to be explained by linking them to electioneering. The continuing investigation of Deputy President Jacob Zuma is one example.

Various theories about this have emerged, most with a common theme: this is character assassination to ruin Zuma's chances of ascending to the position of President.

One theory assumes an ethnic tag. It alleges that this is a Xhosa conspiracy within the ANC to keep the leadership, of both the party and the country, within amaXhosa. Zuma is a Zulu, and holding the position of deputy president makes him an inevitable target for the Xhosa conspirators.

Another conspiracy theory revolves around the belief that President Thabo Mbeki intends to serve a third term. Therefore, the Zuma investigation is assumed to be part of the mission to eliminate any possible successor. In this way, when the time comes for Mbeki to step down, the ANC - and South Africans at large - will have been made to believe that there is no suitable alternative. This will justify a constitutional change to allow Mbeki a third term.

Conspiracy theorists cite the naming, back in 2001, of ANC politicians Tokyo Sexwale, Cyril Ramaphosa and Matthews Phosa, as plotters who wished to topple Mbeki. This was preceded by Zuma's public pronouncement that he had no intention of challenging for the presidency.

Both these theories are reductionist. They lay too much focus on assumed individuals' ill intentions, both within the ANC and the government. In the process, they disregard the rules, regulations and processes operating within the ANC organisation. Similarly, the country has specific laws and institutions that govern the succession issues. The electioneering theory ignores these crucial factors.

The ANC has a rich history of collective action, rather than individual glorification. Former President Nelson Mandela, for example, has been at pains to explain that his achievements must be seen within a broader ANC collective.

Erroneously, some have argued that Mbeki was "hand-picked" by Mandela to succeed him. In fact, several people, including the late Peter Mokaba, as the leader of the ANC Youth League, campaigned vigorously for Mbeki to succeed Mandela.

The ethnic theory neglects these realities. It makes two assumptions. One is that Zuma has a personal ambition to become President and is positioning himself as such. Secondly, it assumes that amaXhosa within the ANC are one homogenous block. The fact that Bulelani Ngcuka is head of the Scorpions seemingly strengthens this theory.

However, the theory misses the point. Ngcuka is answerable to Penuell Maduna, the Minister of Justice, who, like Zuma, is a Zulu.

If indeed political loyalties within the ANC are based on ethnic loyalty, Maduna would have been expected to protect Zuma.

Similarly, Mbeki's personal glorification is the basis for the assumption that he wants to serve a third term. This seems impossible at the moment. Democratisation of the African continent has been Mbeki's hallmark. He has sought to persuade Malawian President Bakili Muluzi against seeking a third term. He cannot be seen to act against his own principles.

However, taking elections as a step for individual progress, the Mbeki third-term theory becomes credible. Ironically, it contains a contradiction. On the one hand, it individualises Mbeki's political actions as reflective of personal ambition, yet, on the other, locates him within a collective of African leaders who have sought to personalise the presidency for life.

Using the electioneering theory to explain political events may be dangerous to South Africa's young democracy, for three reasons.

Firstly, it undermines the sanctity of elections and weakens their value as a means for society to choose its government. Instead, elections are seen as a political game for individuals to outplay each other . It becomes a process whereby political opponents within the parties deal with each other.

Secondly, it weakens the value of institutions created to safeguard democracy. For example, there is growing public perception that the Scorpions Investigating Unit is being used in the ANC's internal squabbles. Moreover, the unit has been individualised as Ngcuka. Hence, another reductionist approach, dubbed "Ngcuka versus Zuma". In the process, noble democratic principles, such as "rule of law", "innocent until proven guilty" and "the independence of the judiciary" fall by the wayside.

Thirdly, the importance of the media in a democracy is eroded , since it is assumed that it is being used to undermine certain senior government figures. And yet, in principle, the media is expected to be the eyes and ears of society and report the truth in the best public interest.

It is true that internal political squabbles occur. Often they heighten in the periods preceding elections. But it is also true that political events occur in the run-up to elections that have no direct link with them.

The Zuma investigation started almost three years ago. Whether the questions were leaked recently to the media as a form or character assassination is worth investigating.

Elections are not a sum total of political events. Taking such an approach misses out on the complexity of political actors, organisational principles and the operation of democratic institutions. The unfortunate net effect of this view is that all of us become tools "used" by politicians. South African society is more complex than that.

With acknowledgements to Dumisani Hlophe and the Sunday Times.