Source: Statistics were obtained from the Citizen reports received via the Ziso/Ilihlo platform; the Forum’s member organisations, the Forum are Public Interest Unit; and from verified media reports. Harassment and intimidation The pre-electoral environment was characterised by high incidences of cases of harassment and intimidation. It is important to note that irrespective of the different contexts in which elections have been held in Zimbabwe, harassment and intimidation remain at the core of ZANU PF election campaign strategy. From as far back as the 1985 elections, organized violence and intimidation has been a strategy of ZANU PF to coerce citizens to vote for them and also to punish opposition party supporters.22 Traditional leaders and youths are often used as instruments of perpetuating violence. Politicization of food aid and agricultural inputs Reports of partisan distribution of food aid and farming inputs were also received. The main perpetrators were the traditional leaders who were reportedly denying opposition supporters’ food aid and inputs. The role of traditional leaders in Zimbabwean politics has always been a bone of contention. Traditional leaders have always been meddling in politics and openly declaring their allegiance to ZANU PF in violation of Section 281 (2) (a), which prohibits traditional leaders from participating in partisan politics or acting in a partisan manner. In previous elections traditional leaders assumed the role of ZANU PF campaign managers by forcing villagers to attend ZANU PF rallies and to vote for it. Use of public institutions and resources The 2018 harmonized elections witnessed the overt abuse of public institutions and resources in particular during the run up to the elections. The ruling ZANU PF party was the main culprit in this regard. The tendency by ZANU PF to abuse State resources for party activities is exacerbated by the current set up in which there is a conflation of the State and the Party. From its primary elections, ZANU-PF relied on state resources. For example, police officers and other security agencies were used as polling officers Todd Moss and Stewart Patrick, After Mugabe: Applying post –conflict recovery lessons, Africa Policy Journal, Vol. 1 Spring 20060 22 27