BALLOT News X Issue No. 2 September 2007 From page 14 Further, the criteria for delimitation are not clear. Whilst the Bill provides for the DC to give consideration to physical features, means of communication, the geographical distribution of voters and existing electoral boundaries, universal standards for delimitation have not been listed as requirements. It needs to be representative, allow participation of stakeholders, allow for equal voting strengths, and be accurate to enhance independence and impartiality of the process. The Composition of the House of Assembly and the Senate The Bill proposes to increase the number of Senatorial constituencies from 66 to 84. Only 50 will be popularly elected, while 18 chiefs, 10 provincial governors and 6 presidential appointees will make up the numbers. None of these 34 can be said to be representative of the will of the people. The House of Assembly will increase from 120 elected members to 200, with an additional 10 seats for presidential appointees. As noted before, in principle there would not be much argument against increasing the numbers of members of Parliament where they are directly elected by the voters, as this would ensure greater representation for, and better access to, constituents. However, Zimbabwe's economy is in freefall; state institutions, including Parliament, are already grossly under-resourced which impacts on service delivery. For this reason alone Zimbabweans can ill afford a further bloated institution, which places additional, strain on the overburdened taxpayer. Further, presidential appointees have no business in Parliament. The executive should not be able to appoint any members of the legislature whatsoever, as this has a negative impact on the separation of powers. Even chiefs, who have a legitimate role to play, should be outside the legislature and form an advisory council. If the intention is to improve representation of traditionally marginalized groups such as women, the disabled and the elderly, amongst others, then this should have Dr. Lovemore Madhuku addressing a ZESN public meeting on Constitutional Amendment 18 been clearly provided for in the Bill, but should still have been subjected to the democratic process. As such, it can only be assumed that the numbers have been increased as a means of further extending patronage to more supporters of the ruling party. Choosing Our President For Us The proposed amendment to the Constitution, which will have the most drastic consequences for the rights of voters, comes in Clauses 2 and 3 of the Bill. What these clauses give with one hand - a reduction of the presidential term of office from 6 to 5 years they remove with the other. Whilst voters will have the opportunity of voting for a president in an election, their power is immediately diminished as this elected individual, if s/he dies, resigns, or is removed from office, can be replaced with another individual “elected” not by voters, but by a simple majority of all members of the Senate and the House of Assembly (including presidential appointees who will number 44 out of a total of 148), and will remain in office for the remainder of the original term. This clearly contravenes numerous regional and international human rights treaties to which Zimbabwe is a state party, and which 15 safeguard the fundamental right of an individual to participate freely in the government of his/her country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives and which require full participation of the citizens in the national political process. These include the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (which principles have been domesticated in our own Electoral Act). This cannot be justified in a democratic society and the only possible explanation for its inclusion is to manage a succession issue, which has the ability to unseat the incumbent government. Elections 2007 and the Proposed Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (“the Commission”) An analysis of the implications of the proposed Commission would require a treatise on its own. In the context of elections, it is important to note that the clear trend in Zimbabwe continues to be that of markedly increased human rights violations in the runContinued on page 16 X