enactment of laws that guarantee the right to vote, and that universal suffrage is one of the foundational values of a constitutional order. The Complainant adds that a necessary element of the right guaranteed under Article 13(1) is the right to participate in elections, which are the only means by which a people can democratically elect the government of their choice. The Complainant submits that the right to vote is an inherent right of all citizens and its exercise is a crucial part of democracy, such that its denial would itself imperil a democracy. 53. The Complainant contends that, in designing and establishing an electoral system, States should consider it crucial to foster enfranchisement, recognise the right to vote as an essential democratic value, and wherever possible, encourage the participation of citizens in the electoral process. It adds that States are therefore obliged to provide the machinery, mechanisms or processes to ensure that all persons who want to vote and take reasonable steps in pursuit of that right, are able to vote. 54. The Complainant agrees that States can indeed regulate the application of the right to vote through their national legislation, but it submits that this legislation should be compatible with the State’s obligations under the African Charter. The Complainant submits that allowing national legislation to take precedence over the African Charter would result in eroding the importance and impact of the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the African Charter. 55. The Complainant further submits that the right guaranteed under Article 13(1) is extended to ‘every citizen’ of a particular State and any curtailing of the right can only be justified by reasons of legal incapacity. The Complainant notes that Article 13(1) of the African Charter is similar in substance to Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which the United Nations Human Rights Committee (the Human Rights Committee) has suggested that any conditions applicable to the exercise of the right should be based on objective and reasonable criteria established by law. 56. The Complainant suggests that in interpreting the African Charter, the only legitimate reasons for restricting the rights and freedoms contained therein are expressly stated in Article 27(2), which provides that rights ‘shall be exercised with due regards to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest, and that in cases of restrictions, they must ‘be based on legitimate public interest and the inconveniencies caused by the restrictions should be strictly proportional and absolutely necessary for the benefits to be realised’. 57. Finally, the Complainant contends that Section 58 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution (as amended in 2007) , which places a residency requirement for prospective voters to be registered in the voter’s roll and Section 72 of the Electoral Act of Zimbabwe 11