I. Summary On March 29, 2008, Zimbabweans will participate in presidential, parliamentary, senatorial, and local government elections synchronized for the first time, following changes to Zimbabwe’s constitution in September 2007. As the elections near, all indications are that once again the people of Zimbabwe will not be able to freely exercise their civil and political rights and vote for the candidates of their choice. As in the last parliamentary elections in 2005, the playing field for candidates and their parties is not level. The Constitution of Zimbabwe charges the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) with holding elections that are “conducted efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law.” The conduct of free and fair elections is part and parcel of Zimbabwe’s obligations under human rights law as guaranteed in the constitution and in international and African human rights conventions that Zimbabwe has ratified.1 The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, to which the government of Zimbabwe is a signatory, call for full participation of citizens in the political process, freedom of association, political tolerance, equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media, independence of the judiciary, independence of the media, impartiality of the electoral institutions, and voter education.2 The government has yet again failed to adequately meet any of these obligations in the run up to the March 29 elections. Zimbabwe has a history of elections that fall far short of international and regional standards, and of government-sponsored repression of opposition parties. The government has not remedied the serious flaws in the electoral process documented by local and international observers in the 1 For example, article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), entered into force March 23, 1976, acceded to by Zimbabwe on August 13, 1991; and article 13, African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, entered into force October 21, 1986, ratified by Zimbabwe on May 30, 1986. 2 SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, adopted by the SADC Summit, Mauritius, August 2004, http://www.sadc.int/english/documents/political_affairs/index.php (accessed March 11, 2008). All Over Again 2