ZIMBABWE: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2005 4 committed to guaranteeing that such hard-won freedom and democracy persists and matures in our countries. This statement and others like it have led to a general discussion within organisations observing elections regarding whether they should function in relation to local or regional norms rather that their own. The EU has, for example, published a methodology for election observation, hereby providing a standard for the election observation missions to be used all over the world. If, however, a European organisation or country should use the regional standard, the criticism of President Mkapa might still be applicable, in that foreign countries as such continue to hold the power to interpret the African standards, giving their verdict accordingly. As the quote indicates, the African organisations are committed to democracy for their own reasons. African standards are just as strict as the ones in use by old democracies. In some instances the SADC standards are even more specific than the European ones, which would need more interpretation. Conventions are general in their expressed commitments. Nevertheless, reasonable interpretation does provide good guidance for elections. Standards are normally more detailed. 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; (c) to have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country. 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: