Zimbabwe – Ready for Elections? 23 be selected on the basis of their bias in favour of a particular party or position. In elections held in Zimbabwe in 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2008, a number of foreign and local observers were denied entry into Zimbabwe or accreditation to observe. This does not bode well for transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process and violates the SADC Principles.101 The importance of the role of observers is emphasised in the Guidelines for African Union Electoral Observation and Monitoring Missions, as well as the SADC Principles.102 The provisions of the Electoral Act relating to observers103 provide for local and foreign observers. The Electoral Act does not comply with the norms set out in the SADC Principles which require ZEC to invite SADC observers at least 90 days before the elections. The law does not give a timeframe within which to invite applications; it only prescribes timelines within which to lodge an application with the Accreditation Committee. The deadline for receiving applications is 4 days before special voting (for observation of the Special Vote) or 4 days before the actual poll (for observation of the harmonised elections).104 All observers have to be accredited by an Observers’ Accreditation Committee (Accreditation Committee) set up by ZEC. It is now composed of 9 members, 5 from ZEC and 4 executive appointments including a member of the President’s Office.105The legal framework must ensure that ZEC controls this whole process to the exclusion of political players or executive members who have an interest in the elections. Not only is the membership of the Accreditation Committee open to political bias, but it also does not have the discretion to choose foreign observers. The Electoral Act requires all foreign observers to obtain letters of invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before they can enter the country to observe the elections. The Minister of Foreign Affairs – himself an interested party – can veto foreign observers, and this is not a good practice. On 17 July 2013, it was reported that the Minister of Foreign Affairs had said that observers from the European Union and the United States of America were not invited to observe the elections as they had imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe. At least 50invited observer teams were from Latin America, Africa, and Asia.106 A 10-member long-term AU observer mission arrived in Harare on 19 June.107 SADC deployed 442 observers to observe elections in the ten provinces.108 Fears by CSOs that the President and Minister would only accredit foreign observers coming from countries considered to be friendly towards the ZANU PF side of government have been vindicated. This detracts considerably from the Accreditation Committee’s independence: apparently 101 Principle 7.8 of SADC Principles. 102 Principle 2.2 of African Union Guidelines. 103 Section 6 of the Electoral Act. 104 Section 40I(1)(a) of the Electoral Act. 105 Section 40H(1) of the Electoral Act. 106 “Over 50 foreign groups to observe polls” The Saturday Herald (6 July 2013) p 2. 107 M Chideme “AU 10 – member observer team arrives” The Herald (19 June 2013) p 2. 108 B Mananavire “EU observer mission barred” The Herald (17 July 2013) p 3.