And like the judges, senior security forces officers should be required to go through a new selection process if they are to retain their posts under the new constitution. 8. Miscellaneous powers (a) The power to declare war and make peace This power is specifically mentioned in the present Constitution and again in the GPA. It should not be mentioned in the new constitution because, as a member State of the United Nations, Zimbabwe has renounced the use of force. The South African, Zambian and Botswana constitutions do not mention such a power. (b) Prerogative of mercy Under the present Constitution the President exercises the prerogative of mercy [i.e. the power to grant amnesties and pardons and to reduce sentences imposed by courts] and is supposed to do so on the advice of Cabinet. This means that political motives can influence its exercise — as undoubtedly they have done in the past. The new Constitution should limit the exercise of the prerogative of mercy to cases where an independent body has recommended it. Provisions for this independent body should be made in the Constitution with provision for an enabling Act to lay down guidelines for the exercise of the prerogative. (c) Power to confer honours and precedence As with the prerogative of mercy, this power should be exercised only on the recommendation of an independent body, again making provision for this body and for an enabling Act to lay down guidelines. Otherwise honours such as the conferring of National Hero status will continue to be awarded on a partisan basis. Finally: one strong check on excesses by the executive is to oblige all public officers without exception to make a full, regular and public disclosure of their assets. Restraints on the Persons who Constitute the Executive 1. Elections Regular, free and fair elections make President and Ministers accountable to the electorate and constitute the most important check on their conduct. Politicians who know that within five years or less they must account to the people for what they have done will tend to moderate their excesses. Elections are an essential component of democracy and that is why our Constitution makes the right to participate in free, fair and regular elections a fundamental human right. Nevertheless, elections are not in themselves an adequate safeguard against dictatorship, the perpetuation of a political elite or corruption: • Electoral procedures are easily manipulated. Voters’ rolls can be filled with the names of fictitious/deceased people to facilitate vote-rigging. State resources can be misused to ensure the return of an incumbent President and ruling party. • For an election to be free and fair, the political atmosphere must be conducive to participatory democracy. Hence there must be freedom of conscience, so that people are not persecuted for their beliefs; there must also be freedom of speech and freedom of association, sufficient to allow opposing views to be given a full hearing and for opposition parties to flourish. To the extent that the law restricts these freedoms (for example, to prevent defamation, obstruction of the streets and armed insurrection) the law must be moderate and clear so that everyone knows precisely what they can and cannot do. In brief, there must be tolerance for the views and attitudes of other people, and an acceptance that the incumbent President 43