Unfortunately, such bias has not been remedied by the new legal provisions governing elections. Under Zimbabwe’s amended electoral laws, the ZEC now decides who can be accredited as an observer and who can be invited. The Electoral Laws Amendment Act provides for the ZEC to establish a committee to accredit observers, foreign and local.143 However, as the presence of a foreign observer in the country is dependent on an invitation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to observe an election, the executive arm of the government still has the power to decide the composition of accredited observer missions. The SADC Principles and Guidelines also recommend that the government should issue invitations to electoral observers 90 days before election day to “allow adequate preparation for the deployment of the Electoral Observer Mission.”144 But, just over a month before the elections, there was no clear indication of which, if any, international observers had been invited for the elections. By February 22—weeks after the critical period of voter registration had begun—no international observers were on the ground, and ZEC only announced a period of accreditation from February 19. On March 7 Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengengwi announced a list of 47 teams to observe the elections.145 About 50 members of a 120-strong SADC Observer Mission arrived on March 10.146 The necessity of electoral observation to commence at an early stage of the process is underlined by the fact that, as in past elections, hostile conditions likely to impact on the ability of Zimbabweans to vote freely have been observed weeks if not months before the elections. 143 Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 2007, clause 17. Under the clause individuals representing local organizations are accredited by the ZEC, but the minister of justice can object or invite whomever he wants. In terms of Electoral Supervisory Commissions or bodies the ZEC can issue invitations but cannot provide accreditation if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs objects. 144 SADC Principles and Guidelines, section 7.10. 145 “Zimbabwe invites 47 teams to observe election,” The Herald, March 7, 2008. 146 “First SADC observer team arrives,” The Herald, March 11, 2008. 45 Human Rights Watch March 2008