ZIMBABWE: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2005 10 main news stories every day were ZANU PF leaders’ rallies across the country, with very few reports on MDC rallies. After the Daily News was closed in 2002, there was no daily newspaper in Zimbabwe supporting the opposition, but the opposition had the support of some weeklies. A key element of reform would be the laws regulating electronic and written media in order to secure diversity and to prevent the use of state media by the incumbents for promotion of their own political campaign. Election Campaign Even MDC was able to campaign across the country, also in previous no-go areas. However, in some areas they had to bring in people from other areas and the local supporters could not campaign openly. The restrictions on meetings and the media situation constituted the biggest problems for the freedom of the voters. In addition, there were frequent reports of the use of state funds and logistics for campaign purposes. Both the SADC Parliamentary Forum recommendation on Misuse of Public Resources and Funding for Political Activities, and the SADC Standards for a fair process call for strict regulation of incumbents’ use of state funds. Technical Aspects It was a positive development that information on polling stations, polling procedures and elections officials was made public well in advance of Election Day, even though there were inaccuracies. The number of polling stations increased all over the country. The mobile polling stations, which had reduced the transparency in the countryside during previous elections, were replaced by fixed stations. Polling stations in Harare and in Bulawayo needed to process on the average around 1,600 voters. In other provinces the capacity was on the average from 530 to 660 voters per polling station. The difference may in part be explained by the topographical conditions, but not completely. One concern prior to the election was therefore to what extent the capacity in the cities would be sufficient. Each polling station had three lines consisting of a table for