Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal |3 “Every Zimbabwean citizen or permanent resident, including juristic persons and the Zimbabwean media, has the right of access to any information held by the State or by any institution or agency of government at every level, in so far as the information is required for the exercise of public accountability.” 10 In addition, the Constitution provides as follows: “Every person, including the Zimbabwean media, has the right of access to any information held by any person, including the State, in so far as the information is required for the exercise or protection of a right.” 11 This paper argues that the right to access any information held by the State includes the constitutional right of citizens and permanent residents of Zimbabwe to access the national voters’ roll in both electronic and hard copy format. This argument is predicated on the fact that access to the national voters’ roll is necessary for citizens to hold the ZEC accountable regarding how it discharges its constitutional duty of managing the national voters’ roll and related registers. This argument is also based on the fact that citizens require access to the national voters’ roll for them to be able to exercise their political rights, particularly the right to a free and fair election. This paper is divided into three parts. In Part I, the nature and object of the right of access to information held by the State is discussed and it is sought to show that the purpose of the right of access to information is to give effect to the constitutional values of transparency and accountability. The discussion is also aimed at showing that the purpose of this right is to facilitate the protection and enforcement of other legal rights to which citizens are entitled. In Part II, the paper discusses the application of the right of access to information held by 10 11 See s 62 (1) ibid. See s 62 (2) ibid.