Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal |11 constitutionalism. Section 233 is significant as it is one of the provisions through which ZEC is created and it can be argued that the same constitutional provisions which create ZEC further bind it to honour human rights. Access to information is recognised as a constitutional human right and therefore ZEC is bound to honour that right. Constitutionalism is a complex phenomenon to define but, as Francois Venter argues, it is a doctrine that encapsulates the idea that: “… those who govern are obliged to conduct the business of government in accordance with publicly articulated, prospective rules that enable citizens to assess the legitimacy and propriety of public policies”.41 These rules are set by the Constitution and expanded in the enabling legislation and regulations. Constitutionalism, therefore, implies respect for the Constitution and all other laws which flow from it. In terms of s 233, ZEC is therefore obliged to promote respect for the Constitution, which also includes respect of the rights enshrined in the Constitution. In that regard, ZEC is bound not only to honour the right of access to information, enshrined in s 62, but to actively promote the observance of this right when discharging its constitutional mandate. Since the adoption of the Constitution in May 2013, the Zimbabwean courts have handled some petitions42 in which citizens and or political parties sought to hold ZEC accountable on the basis of the Declaration of Rights. However, the courts have not been able to deal with this issue as most of those petitions were thrown out on technicalities. However, prior to the commencement of the 2013 Constitution, the Zimbabwean Electoral Court in Movement for Democratic Change v the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral 41 42 Francois Venter ‘The Withering of the Rule of Law’ (1973) Vol 8 Spectrum Juris at 69-88 These are largely unreported because they were dismissed on technicalities.