ZIMBABWE: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2005 6 The legislative powers therefore do not rest entirely with an elected legislative assembly, but with a combination of a partly elected parliament and the executive branch. The Laws on the Elections When the SADC meeting on 7 to 14 August 2004 passed the SADC Standards, it was stated that they were not designed for one particular country or situation. Nevertheless, everybody seemed to have the upcoming elections in Zimbabwe in mind, and in the public debate in Zimbabwe both parties referred to the standards with great frequency. ZANU PF proposed a new election law and a law on an independent election commission after the SADC meeting, and the laws were adopted by the Parliament and signed by the President in January 2005. These laws introduced reforms that met some requirements of the SADC standards, and include: o An independent election commission (ZEC). o The count will take place in the polling stations, which significantly enhances the transparency and security of the process. In addition the following measures were taken: o The elections are held on one day instead of two. This eliminates the doubts about the security of the voting material during the interim night. The reform is less popular with the public, and the capacity of the polling stations must be increased, but it is a measure which was supported by the opposition; o The ballot boxes will be translucent, which will reduce risks of ballot stuffing. (This is in accordance with a recommendation of the SADC Parliamentary Forum standard.) The SADC Standards also emphasise the need for peaceful elections. Electoral bodies The Constitution requires Zimbabwe to have an Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC). This body would assign monitors to all polling stations as well as to campaign events, and they would supervise the officials registering the voters and organising the election. According to Article 61 of the Constitution the “Electoral Supervisory Commission may make such reports to the President concerning the matters under its supervision or any draft Bill or statutory instrument that is referred to it as it thinks fit and, if the Commission so requests in any such report other than a report on a draft Bill or statutory instrument, the Minister shall ensure that the report concerned is laid before Parliament”.