3 POLITICAL BACKGROUND On 30 July 2018, Zimbabwe held its harmonized elections for the President, Members of Parliament (MPs) at the constituency level, and Councillors at ward level. An unprecedented 23 presidential candidates contested. In addition, 1648 candidates from 55 political parties and 3 political party coalitions participated in elections for National Assembly while 6796 candidates participated in the local government elections. Despite the high number of independent candidates and parties that participated, the elections essentially appeared to be a race between ZANU-PF and the MDC Alliance as they were the most visible throughout the campaign season. Another peculiarity of the 30 July 2018 election was the absence of former President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai who had been key protagonists in preceding elections. The former resigned before the completion of an impeachment process that had been initiated in the midst of a military intervention in November 2017, dubbed ‘Operation Restore Legacy’, while the latter succumbed to cancer on 14 February 2018. There were therefore new presidential candidates for both ZANU-PF and the MDC Alliance. The high voter turnout of 82.5 %could partly be attributed to the participation of new presidential candidates, the new voters’ registration process which required all voters to register afresh for the 2018 elections, and the relatively peaceful pre-electoral environment. 4 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 4.1 Universal and Regional Principles and Commitments Zimbabwe is a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN). As a member of these bodies, the country is bound by several instruments, by virtue of such membership or, where necessary, by virtue of voluntarily agreeing to be, bound by such human rights instruments. Key instruments include the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It is universally acknowledged that the electoral system of a country must ensure the realisation of the right of every individual to participate in the government of their country. Participation in free, fair, and credible elections, as 19 | P a g e