Diaspora Vote It is not practically possible to allow people who are outside the country to cast ballots in by-elections. Apart from logistical difficulties, it is difficult to see on what basis such persons could be allocated to constituencies, except by providing that they are deemed to be registered in the constituencies in which they were last resident. Critical Importance of Media Coverage Ideally the whole media arena should be opened up so that there can be media diversity in both print and broadcasting prior to by-elections. The ZBC should also be transformed from a highly partisan broadcaster into a genuinely public broadcaster that will cover elections on a fair and balanced basis. The repressive media laws that exist currently must be completely overhauled. In the meantime the Electoral Commission must use the legal powers already incorporated into the Electoral Act to ensure fair coverage of elections and avoidance of hate speech. The Electoral Commission must be pro-active in monitoring the media and ensuring that they abide by the legislation in the lead up to the various by-elections that are due to take place. This should be done in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Media Commission established under Constitutional Amendment No 19. Regulatory Powers of the Electoral Commission The regulatory powers of the Electoral Commission in respect of elections should be more limited and specific. The regulations that ZEC is empowered to make should not be subject to approval by the Justice Minister. The President should not be able to use the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act to change any of the electoral rules. Police Presence Police must not be deployed inside polling stations. Voters in need of assistance should be helped by relative or friend. Police officers should not be present. PRIORITY AREAS ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM In this section ZESN prioritizes critical reforms that should be made before the holding of a referendum in order to ensure that the referendum is perceived to be free and fair and that the published result accurately reflects the electoral will of the people of Zimbabwe. Certain changes to the Referendums Act will also be made. The Constitutional Reform Programme Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement provides the process and timetable for the drawing up of a draft new Constitution for Zimbabwe and the submission of the Constitution to a referendum at which Zimbabweans voters will decide whether to approve or not approve this draft. Role and Functions of Parliament on draft Constitution Before the referendum is held the draft must first be submitted to the Second All Stakeholders Conference where the draft will be debated and decisions made on whether the draft properly reflects what the people said they wanted in the Constitution during the outreach program. Thereafter the draft Constitution and accompanying Report is to be debated within Parliament for up to one month. However, it is not clear what Parliament’s role and functions are when it debates the draft Constitution. Will the Parliament be at liberty to amend the provisions of the draft or will it simply debate whether the draft reflects what is contained in