5 Overview At the outset, it must be stated that the climates in all Provinces do not currently accord with the kind of conditions that would be expected under the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. Although physical violence is down substantially, other forms of electoral irregularity – threats, hate speech and intimidation – are all high, and no constituency was reported as being free from this irregularity. Figure 1. Electoral Irregularity Ratings: Provinces [February 2005] Electoral Irregularity Rating 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 M id lan ds M at ab ele la nd No M rth at ab ele la nd So ut h M as vin go Ea st an d M as ho na l an d Ce nt ra l Ha ra re M as ho na l Bu la wa yo 0 Province A brief summary of the irregularities observed by the NCA shows very little reason to hold out any confidence that the current electoral climate is conducive to the holding of genuine, democratic elections. Quite apart from the flawed constitutional basis for these elections, irregularities are extremely prevalent, as can be seen from the table below, which is a summary of all reports to date. Table 1. Summary of Irregularities over all Provinces in February 2005. Electoral Irregularity Interference with Freedom of Association Interference with Freedom of Assembly Interference with Freedom of Movement Interference with Freedom of Expression Political Violence Electoral Disagreements Absence of Voter Education Political use of food Percentage of Constituencies reporting Irregularity 82% 68% 72% 90% 91% 44% 75% 72% National Constitutional Assembly: Election Climate Reports.