Appendix G 88 • • Enforce clear guidelines and regulations to ensure equal media access for all major candidates and parties, especially in the government controlled press. Amend presidential petition process to ensure sufficient time for litigants to collect information and the development of appropriate legal standards for adjudicating petitions The ZIEOM recognizes that the people of Zimbabwe will ultimately determine the nature of the country’s elections and its democratic trajectory. The next five years provide an opportunity for Zimbabwe to take the extraordinary steps needed to build broad-based confidence in the country’s elections. At the same time, there are also significant steps that Zimbabwe can take now to progress the expanded political openness demonstrated during the pre-election period and ensure that the country achieves an authentic democratic transition. The following are recommendations to develop the democratic space towards those ends: • Encourage and maintain an environment of free political expression and tolerance for opposing views and multi-party democracy. • Ensure parliamentary rules and positions provide meaningful roles for the opposition MPs and parties in the legislative process and the discussion of issues of national importance. • Enforce the constitutional requirement to achieve gender parity in government institutions and develop measurable strategies for involving women in all aspects of governing, including ending all forms of violence against women in politics and removing barriers to their meaningful participation. • Foster a diverse media environment with independent print, electronic (in particular radio), and social media representing a variety of perspectives. • Develop consultative mechanisms with civil society and stakeholders from across the political spectrum to create and implement public policies that at are beneficial for all Zimbabweans, not just a select few. • Redouble efforts to inspire an educated and informed citizenry through robust civic education that focuses on rights and responsibilities in a democratic society. • Develop an anti-corruption and responsible governance agenda that root out the sources of misuse of state resources and ensure that people and their issues are priorities. • Reduce the involvement of the military in the normal civilian and commercial activities of the country. • Foster an independent judiciary that endeavors to adjudicate fairly and justly through due process of law. • Prosecute perpetrators of violence and other forms of political coercion directed against opposition activists and supporters, including those responsible for the August 1 shootings of protesters by Zimbabwe Defence Forces. Those who seek to establish a democratic Zimbabwe will have to unite the country and find a way to work effectively with their political opposition and civil society. The ZIEOM recommendations are but one critical step in taking that path. The overall health of Zimbabwe’s democratic transition requires a robust multi-party system, a free and vibrant press, and for Zimbabweans to engage actively in creating a responsible and accountable government. The ZIEOM will produce a final report in October drawing on the observations of its core team of analysts, long-term observers, and pre-election, Election Day, and post-election delegations.