14 | Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal to manage elections and ensure that they are free and fair.”54 Thus the Court took the view that the electoral commission is created to fulfil the rights enshrined in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, particularly the right to vote. Therefore, the IEC is bound to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights.55 Jagwanth observes that the right of access to information held by the State creates positive duties which must be performed by the State.56 In Zimbabwe, these duties are encapsulated in s 44, whose import is to require the State to protect and promote the citizen’s right to access information held by the State. The duty to protect human rights entails the obligation to take positive steps to protect rights bearers from activities which have the potential to undermine the enjoyment of their constitutional rights.57 The duty to promote fundamental rights encompasses the obligation to take positive measures to create conditions which enable citizens to access and enjoy their fundamental rights.58 Therefore both the duty to protect and promote culminate in the establishment of the obligation of the State to take positive measures to ensure that citizens enjoy their rights. Regarding the right of access to information, ZEC is therefore bound to take positive steps to provide citizens with information when they request it. The scope of this duty must be interpreted consistent with s 194 (1) which obliges all institutions of the State to ensure that they discharge their functions in accordance with the basic values and principles governing public administration, as enshrined in the Constitution. These include the requirement to foster transparency by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information.59 Therefore ZEC has a positive obligation to timeously provide the national voters’ roll when requested to do so and it must be provided in its accurate form. August v Electoral Commission Case CCT 8/99 at 16 See s 7 (2) of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996 56 See Note 23 at 7 57 A. Akintayo. “Planning law versus the right of the poor to adequate housing: A progressive assessment of the Lagos State of Nigeria’s Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010” (2014) African Human Rights Law Journal at 561 58 Ibid 59 See section 194 (1) (h) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe 54 55