Voter information and voter education prior to referendum For voters to decide whether or not they will vote in favor of the draft new Constitution, they obviously need to be aware of the contents of the draft. Simplified written materials encapsulating the essential features of the draft should be circulated for scrutiny throughout the country. There is also need to ensure that the coverage given by the media to the constitutional debate is fair and balanced. Civic organizations must be allowed to circulate information to the public on the constitutional outreach program, the important aspects of constitutional reform, and the voting process in the referendum. Ballot papers and ballot boxes Comments made above on disclosing the number of ballot papers printed for an election and to disclose other such information, for example, the number of ballot-boxes issued to each polling station apply to the referendum. Regulatory powers of the Electoral Commission The power of the Electoral Commission to make regulations in respect of the referendum should be more limited and be made more specific and the regulations that they are still 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. Zimbabweans outside country The new Zimbabwean constitution should have a buy in from as many Zimbabweans as possible and therefore Zimbabweans outside the country should be encouraged to vote in the referendum by facilitating voting by them. There are strong arguments in favor of setting up a reliable, tamper proof system to allow Zimbabwean citizens who are externally resident to vote in the referendum outside the country if they are unable to return to the country to vote. It is also in violation of section 23A of Constitution not to establish system to allow citizens outside to vote. CONCLUSION It remains to be seen whether the new Electoral Commission will be composed in such a manner that it properly performs its duty of ensuring that elections are free and fair. If it is, then a lot of what has been said above may fall into place. But ZESN should continue to push as hard as possible for the implementation of reforms that will help to ensure that by-elections, the referendum and ultimately that the next general election will be as free and fair as possible. there cannot be free and fair elections if political participants treat elections as a form of mortal combat in which you can use any tactics whatsoever to ensure victory.