36 should be increased, with this not only being done by the government, and not only during times of elections. An easier alternative for voting of disabled people, the blind, and the illiterate must be sought which does not involve their telling someone whom they want to vote for, this intimidates them especially in the rural areas. Postal ballots should be scrapped because there is no mechanism to ensure that there is no rigging, and, besides, do those people outside the country get any information about the other political parties in order to enable them to make an informed decision? Communities should make a decision to shun vote buying and they must vote for the person best able to meet their needs. There must be consensus on what action will be taken after the election and the results have been announced. All political parties should get equal media coverage, both print and electronic; there is need to open up the state media, not only using it to promote the ruling party and denigrate the opposition. Independent media should be brought back to ensure that other parties get their messages across. Civil society should be allowed to conduct voter education using whatever methods they prefer, be they pamphlets, drama, or public meetings. It is important to repeal repressive laws like POSA that make it difficult for parties to campaign, and a professional, non-partisan police force should protect the rights of the citizens. As to control over the country’s decision-makers, there has to be a constitutional amendment that states that Parliament should be the final decision making body, not the President. People actually prefer a nonexecutive President; this was the result of the 2000 Referendum. The President should be legally obliged to implement the decisions of parliament within a specified period of time. MPs and the administrative part of parliament should run awareness programmes so that people know the operations of parliament and how they can be helped by it. MPs must be legally obliged to report back to their constituencies and receive instructions from the people that they represent. Repressive laws that prevent MPs from holding public meetings in their constituencies, and those that inhibit access to information should be repealed. There should be offices for MPs where people can have access to them as well as get information on the developments both in parliament as well as in the constituencies. Once elected, MPs should realise they serve the whole constituency regardless of political affiliation, and information should be made available and accessible to everyone. MPs should not be paid, but just given a food and transport allowance, as this will discourage those who run for office purely for economic purposes but with absolutely no intention to help the people. MPs at the moment are very well paid and it is this reason, as well as the prestige that goes with the office, that attracts people to want to run for those posts. When a Bill is introduced, each MP must make sure it is available for public perusal in their constituency; Individuals should find out about the parliamentary information centres and use them. Proper law making procedure should be followed all the time. There must be a law that requires everyone who takes up public office to declare his or her assets and gifts to the public. There should be question and answer times in parliament and through the public media so that decision-makers can explain and give information about their decisions to the public. The government should not be allowed to keep secrets if they have nothing to do with national security. There should be a regular Presidential address with people being allowed to ask questions, and there should be no legal immunity for the President from lawsuits. Citizens must lobby for change in the policies of the different political parties to encourage democracy at the lowest levels, even at primary elections. There should be referendums, or at least opinion surveys, before all major decisions like leaving the Commonwealth are made by the government. IDASA: Zimbabwe at the Cross-Roads: Views of Zimbabwean citizens on democracy and transitional justice.