assistance as appropriate. 15. The Commonwealth Observer Group which was present for the June 2000 Parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe made a series of recommendations intended to assist in resolving problems which the Group had identified during its observations. A number of us were members of that 2000 COG. We regret that in effect none of our recommendations has been accepted by the Government nor by the electoral authorities. In particular, we remain strongly of the view that had a more transparent electoral process been established under a truly impartial authority, the credibility of the current Presidential election could have been considerably enhanced. The lack of such an authority inevitably raises questions over the conduct of this election. 16. We note that steps have been taken to allocate greater resources, and a role in keeping with constitutional provisions, to the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC). This is a move in the right direction, but there is still a need to divorce this body from governmental control in order to ensure its independence. 17. We make the following recommendations, which we believe would assist in the conduct of future elections in Zimbabwe: a) There is a need to revisit the system of election administration. The responsibility is currently shared between the Elections Directorate, the Registrar-General and the Electoral Supervisory Commission. All these bodies are appointed by either the President or the Executive. There is a need to establish an Independent Electoral Commission adequately staffed and equipped to be fully responsible for all aspects of electoral administration and management. b) Legislation should provide for publication of a preliminary and subsequently final voter’s roll in sufficient time prior to an election. Both of these lists should be made available for easily accessible public inspection, rather than only in offices of constituency registrars. c) All parties should subscribe to a Code of Conduct regarding the activities of political parties and candidates during the campaign and election period. d) Regulations governing the use of public media by the political parties and a Code of Conduct on media coverage and advertising during the campaign and election period need to be devised. e) There is a need to review the Constituency delimitation exercise and the number of polling stations attached to constituencies. f) 18. A well-organised and ongoing voter education programme should be initiated and carried out by election officials, political parties and civil society. We are grateful to the Commonwealth Secretary-General for inviting us to participate in this Commonwealth Observer Group. We recognise the importance of our mission for the Commonwealth and for Zimbabwe. In this light, we also thank the Government of Zimbabwe for having invited Commonwealth Observers to this election. We have reported what we have seen in accordance with our mandate. We feel our highest obligation is to the people of Zimbabwe. 45