• T  he Election Law should include a provision that requires the ZEC to publish the tabulation of polling station results up to constituency level without undue delay. • ZEC should be able to and have as an expressed duty to review all material after the elections, at their own initiative and without having to have a court order. • Voters’ registers need to be reviewed in a transparent process in order to remove invalid entries and to ensure that everybody who is registered has been listed in the correct constituency. • Residence requirements for registration in a constituency should be defined in such a way that movement of voters for tactical reasons can be avoided. • The possibilities for voting on the basis of registration certificates should be reviewed to avoid all possibilities of fraud. • Voter registers should be made available to parties as prescribed by law. • The number and address of polling stations should be made available in full to parties and observers well in advance of election day for them to plan their observation on election day and for the general public to find the polling stations. • The suppressive parts of legislation on associations, expressions, press and electronic media must be removed. • Ordinal numbers on the ballot papers should be abolished. There is no legitimate need for printing numbers on the ballots. Should it be seen to be necessary for the ballot tallying, the numbers could be kept on the stubs only. • Conduct of voter education should be open to all organisations without censorship. • The rules for and practice of public media need to change so as to provide a balanced coverage of the incumbents and the opposition. • Clear rules for use of public resources by the incumbents should be introduced. • The ZEC should be equipped with sufficient staff and resources to enable them to take full charge of the process. The staff should be reviewed and the duties of the Chief Election Officer should be defined by the ZEC, not by law. • Surplus of ballots should be kept to what is needed in order to avoid possible misuse. Appendix A. International Standards and Conventions Related to Elections Valid for Zimbabwe Binding international conventions on elections are often general, but they still set a meaningful standard for elections. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (UN General Assembly Resolution of 16 December 1966, ratified by Zimbabwe in 1991), states in Article 25: Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: (a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors; In the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (AHG/Decl. 1 (XXXVIII), Declaration adopted at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Organization of African Unity, 8 July 2002, Durban South Africa, Article IV states: ‘We reaffirm the following rights and obligations under which democratic elections are conducted: 1. Every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his or her country, either directly or through freely elected representatives in accordance with the provisions of the law. 2. Every citizen has the right to fully participate in the electoral processes of the country, including the right to vote or be voted for, according to the laws of the country and as guaranteed by the Constitution, without any kind of discrimination.’ In its summit in Mauritius 7 – 17 August 2004 the SADC countries agreed to the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. These principles refer to the OAU/AU Declaration AHG/Decl. 1 (XXXVIII) quoted above. In addition they state: 2.2 SADC Member States shall adhere to the following principles in the conduct of democratic elections: 2.2.1 Full participation of the citizens in the political process; 2.2.2 Freedom of association; 2.2.3 Political tolerance; 56 57