       GLAA has failed to do justice to several concerns that have been raised by ZESN in previous position papers on electoral law in line with the Constitution. The most worrying issue is that GLAA, in a number of ways misaligns, the subsidiary law with the Constitution and in some respects actually undermines the letter and spirit of the constitution. For example while the Constitution requires that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) be fully responsible for the registration of voters and maintenance of the voters’ roll, the amendments seem to revive the role of the Registrar of Voters- an office that should be abolished and have no further business concerning the running of the election Several provisions of the amendment seem to give the Commission leeway to delegate a number of its functions to other offices in a way clearly not contemplated by the constitution. As matters stand the Act not only fails to align the principal Act with the Constitution but seems to introduce provisions that further undermine the intention of the legislature when the constitution was crafted. The delegation and sharing of this responsibility with the Registrar General and the minister clearly undermines ZEC’s independence and effectiveness, The constitutionality of GLAA to the extent it provides for a role to the minister in some of the electoral functions is highly questionable. The amendment provides for how the Minister may come up with regulations on w number of issues that would be within the domain of the Commission. This does not seem to have been the intended interpretation of the constitutional provisions. The provisions are tantamount to Executive interference and the Minister is both referee and player in the elections. ZESN recommends that Parliament should instead have that oversight role so that the independence of ZEC is not undermined. In addition Section 19 of the Electoral Act has been amended to provide for the creation of voter registration officers and voter registration offices a move that is commendable given ZEC’s new role in voter registration. However the Act should specify that voter registration be a continuous process and the maintenance of voters’ rolls be done in the spirit of transparency credibility and integrity. The GLAA also provides that voter education materials be submitted 28 days to ZEC before their intended use. It is not clear whether organisations such as civic society organisations can now design their own materials. However the 28 days period is too long as it limits the time voter education can be provided. The amendments to the Act fail again to protect voters’ rights, for example by enabling Zimbabweans in the diaspora, those hospitalised, the elderly and those in places of detention to be able to vote.