5.3.9 The armed forces The Mugabe Government has turned the army and air force into politically partisan forces. The armed forces have been used together with the police as a political weapon to suppress opponents and critics and to overcome resistance to unpopular policies. This brief review indicates that the various bodies and agencies involved in the maintenance of the rule of law have either been seriously subverted or compromised in their functioning. The evidence most certainly does not show any kind of improvement in the human and civil rights situation in Zimbabwe, and it cannot be said that the concerns of the Commonwealth Observer Group, CMAG or CHOGM have been addressed in any way. The principles of the Harare Declaration concerning the rule of law are frequently and systematically violated in Zimbabwe. 5.4 Democratic Practices Most crucial of all democratic practices covered under the Harare Declaration is the requirement of free and fair elections, as one of the foundation stones of a democracy must be the ability of the citizens to elect the government of its choice in an unconstrained electoral process. Under the Commonwealth Action Programme, there is reference to the following: • • assistance in the electoral field, including the establishment or strengthening of independent electoral machinery, civic and voter education, the preparation of Codes of Conduct, and assistance with voter registration; observation of elections, including by-elections or local elections where appropriate, at the request of the member governments concerned. This is especially relevant to the Commonwealth Observer Group’s [COG] recommendations from the 2002 Presidential Election. It is noteworthy that this report made specific mention of the previous recommendations from the observation of the 2000 General Election, and it commented that none of the recommendations were followed. In 2002, the COG made a number of further recommendations: • There is a need to revisit the system of election administration. The responsibility is currently shared between the Elections Directorate, the Registrar-General and the Electoral Supervisory Commission. All these bodies are appointed by either the President or the Executive. There is a need to establish an Independent Electoral Commission adequately staffed and equipped to be fully responsible for all aspects of 16