18 | Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal the founding values and principles upon which the government should be based.74 To give effect to these two values, the 2013 Constitution entrenches as fundamental the right of access to any information held by the State,75 and a duty for all public institutions to ensure that they are: “… governed by the democratic values and principles enshrined in this Constitution, including [that] transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information”76 By entrenching transparency and accountability as founding values and by guaranteeing the right of access to information held by the State, there cannot be doubt that the 2013 Constitution has subordinated the exercise of all public power to openness and public scrutiny. ZEC exercises public power to prepare, supervise and conduct elections of public office bearers in Zimbabwe, as described in Part II of this paper. This power should be discharged to give effect to the constitutional principle that the authority to govern is derived from the people77 and through a free and fair election78 which is conducted in accordance with the principles enshrined in s 155 as well as the founding values stated in s 3 of the 2013 Constitution. ZEC has the responsibility to compile voters’ rolls79 and to ensure the proper custody and maintenance of these rolls and registers.80 This constitutional function must be exercised in a manner which adheres to the normative values of transparency and accountability, as discussed earlier. The proper maintenance of the national voters’ roll is the bedrock of the electoral democracy81 74 See s 3 (2) (g) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 75 See s 62 (1) and (2) ibid See s 194(1) (h) ibid Entrenched in section 3 (2) (f) ibid See s 3 (2) (a) and (b) ibid See s 239 (d) ibid See s 239 (e) ibid This is because the right to vote is exercised when one is registered as a voter on the voters’ roll. See schedule 4 of the 76 77 78 79 80 81