The Electoral Laws Amendment Bill 2007 would combine presidential and legislative elections and allow candidates to demand vote recounts. The bill would also prohibit the military, police, and prison officers, from interfering with elections, and also requires that public broadcasters allow equal airtime to all candidates and report impartiality issues, and compel the state-run electoral commission to confer with parties before drawing constituency and ward boundaries. The bill is the result of an agreement reached in September by President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu (PF)Â party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in a house boat on Lake Kariba. The draft bill is expected to be submitted to parliament within 30 days.
Election procedures in Zimbabwe have been harshly criticized over the years by both the MDC and Western governments, largely stemming from the circumstances surrounding Mugabe’s re-election in 2002.
The European Union contended that the election was rigged in order to ensure Mugabe’s victory and imposed targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe’s senior officials as retaliation. The US took similar steps.