ZIMBABWE: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2005 5 1. Every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his or her country, either directly or through freely elected representatives in accordance with the provisions of the law. 2. Every citizen has the right to fully participate in the electoral processes of the country, including the right to vote or be voted for, according to the laws of the country and as guaranteed by the Constitution, without any kind of discrimination. The SADC Standard of August 2004 refers to both the UN Covenant and the OAU/AU Declaration. In addition, it specifies requirements for the entire electoral process. In the following, the electoral process is being assessed against generally accepted standards, keeping the SADC standards in mind, and referring to them where this is deemed appropriate. The Legal Framework The Composition of the Parliament The one-chamber Parliament of Zimbabwe has, according to the constitution, the following composition: - 120 members elected in a first-past-the-post system in single member constituencies; Eight provincial governors; Ten chiefs elected in accordance with the elections law (which stipulates an indirect election among chiefs); Twelve appointed by the President. The thirty members not directly elected would normally be loyal to the President. This means that in order to gain a majority in the Parliament, any opposition would need more than 63% of the seats up for popular vote. The (s)election to the Parliament is therefore already by the Constitution in contradiction to the fundamental principle of universal and equal suffrage as stated in the International Covenant. Even though the President himself is elected, his appointment of twenty per cent of the members of the Parliament does not provide equal opportunities for voters to vote or to run for office. It should also be noted that a bill passed by the Parliament needs the President’s assent to become law. If the President denies assent, a two-thirds majority is needed in the Parliament to force a bill through, and even then the President may decide to dissolve the Parliament instead of signing the bill.