4 Background Zimbabwe whose outcome will not be disputed) is to be achieved. In this regard, it is not ZANU PF or the MDC formations whose will must be respected, but the long-suffering people who seek peace, development and a normal life free from the hardships visited upon them over the years by self-serving politicians. 1.1.2 Norms and standards binding Zimbabwe The right to participate in the government of one’s country is enunciated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), which instruments Zimbabwe has ratified. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development also impose obligations on the Zimbabwe government. ZLHR submits that incorporating standards encompassed in these instruments in domestic law and in electoral processes can result in full implementation of this right. Zimbabwe has not signed or ratified the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. ZLHR urges the government of Zimbabwe to ratify and fully implement this treaty as a matter of urgency. ZLHR has published its views on the electoral legal and institutional framework in various publications over the years. The ideas reflected in this pre-2013 election report are a follow-up to publications focusing of the elections in 2002, 2005 and 2008, both pre- and post-election reports.