ZIMBABWE: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2005 7 The ESC also accredits the observers and liaises with the observer organisations. The ESC has, however, not had a direct role in organising the voters’ rolls or the polls; this has been carried out by the election administration and the Registrar General. As a response to the SADC Standards, a new independent election commission – the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) - was established in accordance with a new law early in 2005. MDC raised objections to the law because it gives the ZEC full control of all voter education in the country. All other organisations could only perform voter education if the ZEC had first approved the training material. In addition, doubts have been raised about the manner of appointing the Chairperson. Even though the ZEC has been given the formal authority over the full process including the voter registration, they started their work late and had few possibilities for fully taking charge of the electoral process. The new election law also introduced an Electoral Court. The Chief Justice appoints the judges of the Electoral Court, after consultation with the Judge President. Elections petitions are to be raised with this court (except for criminal cases) and the rulings on the facts are final, whereas the application of the law may be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. In such cases, the Supreme Court must issue a final judgement within six months of the appeal. One of the advantages of the new system is that election petitions may be processed more quickly than previously. The practice of the court has yet to be proven in full. The Pre-election Phases The Freedom of Association The Public Order and Security Act gives the authorities full control of all public meetings and rallies. The law was frequently used to suppress meetings in 2002. Even though MDC in 2005 received fewer permits to hold rallies than did ZANU PF, the situation was somewhat easier than in 2002. However, the police would still make their approval of a meeting contingent upon a police presence at the meeting. This is a serious hindrance to the opposition, with regard to working in areas controlled by the governing party. People would be afraid of showing up and freely expressing criticism, and this implies that there was not freedom of opinion and expression in the country. According to the SADC Standards the following is a responsibility of the member state, (to):