ANNEX 1 INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION Prior to the holding of the 2018 harmonized elections, the Zimbabwean government welcomed various regional and international observer missions whom they accredited to observe the pre-election, Election Day and post-election processes. This was one of the indications of an improved political space. More than 46 countries and 15 International organizations were invited to observe this year’s elections. The Southern Africa Development Community- Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), African Union (AU), European Union (EU), International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute (IRI/NDI), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Commonwealth, the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries (ECF-SADC), Election Support Network of Southern Africa ( ESN-SA), the Council of Elders, The Carter Center, ZCC and the CCJP are among the observer groups which were monitoring the election process. They also issued preliminary statements on pre-election and Election Day as well as immediate post-election statements. The various observer missions noted that the 2018 elections were peaceful and well administered, however the ZEC fell short in ensuring women political participation in the electoral processes. ZESN was applauded by the various observer missions for conducting an independent voters’ roll audit. The observer missions highlighted that some of the issues that were brought to the fore by the opposition parties are a result of residual mistrust for ZEC emanating from the previous elections. They concurred that there were delays in the release of the Voters’ Roll, lack of pro-active communications strategy as well as lack of transparency in the procurement, printing and layout of ballot papers. The table below shows the key observations and recommendations by the observer missions: 108 | P a g e