IRI/NDI Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission Final Report 33 Fertilizer distribution in Gutu village, Murehwa, Mashonaland East Photo by Edward Bagnall development projects were conflated with campaign events, during which the ZANU-PF candidate or party were promoted. The politicization of food aid for electoral gains tended to be focused in rural areas where ZANU-PF has traditionally held a strong base of support. Traditional Leaders Article 281 of the 2013 Constitution40 explicitly forbids traditional leaders from engaging in political affairs, yet unlawful partisan involvement of traditional leaders and chiefs persists. More generally, the conduct of traditional leaders in elections and their perceived alignment with ZANU-PF creates an unlevel playing field and raises concerns regarding undue influence on ordinary citizens. Prior to the July 30 elections, efforts were undertaken to limit the partisan participation of traditional leaders in political campaigns. For instance, the president of the Chiefs Council, Fortune Charumbira, urged traditional leaders to support ZANU-PF in the 2018 elections, and the High Court ordered him to retract his statement on May 9. However, on June 18, missing the deadline to retract his statement, Charumbira requested a retrial, claiming that he had not known about the case. As a result of his filing for a retrial, the case was placed on hold pending a final decision, which was not forthcoming prior to Election Day. Similarly, on May 16, the High Court in Masvingo ruled that Charumbira was prohibited from making partisan political statements or engaging in campaign activities. An additional application filed with the Electoral Court on June 28 by MDC-T sought to prohibit ZANU-PF from obtaining the support of traditional leaders or influencing them to 40 Constitution of Zimbabwe 2013, s. 281 provides: “Traditional leaders must not a. be members of any political party or in any way participate in partisan politics; b. act in a partisan manner; c. further the interests of any political party or cause; or d. violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of any person.”