IRI/NDI Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission Final Report 7 a new chairperson for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). On May 30, President Mnangagwa declared that elections would be held on July 30, making them Zimbabwe’s first without Mugabe on the ballot, and the first since the political crisis began without Tsvangirai as the main opposition candidate. ZIEOM Mission During the mission, ZIEOM deployed: • • • • • a core team of election analysts based in country from April through October; a high-level pre-election delegation in June; 14 long-term observers across all 10 provinces from June through August; an Election Day delegation comprising 60 observers across the country; and a high-level post-election delegation in October. ZIEOM’s Election Day delegation was led by former Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Interim President of the Central African Republic Catherine Samba-Panza. The Election Day leadership team further included U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, and former U.S. Assistant Secretaries of State for African Affairs Ambassador Johnnie Carson and Constance Berry Newman. Throughout, ZIEOM coordinated closely with other international observer missions as well as citizen observer groups. IRI and NDI are grateful for the warm welcome and cooperation ZIEOM received from all Zimbabweans with whom it interacted, including the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), election officials around the country, the leading presidential candidates, political party leaders, government officials, citizen election monitors, civil society leaders, and others. Through ZIEOM, NDI and IRI sought to express the international community’s interest in and support for credible, peaceful elections in Zimbabwe; provide an accurate and impartial report on the character of the election process; and offer recommendations to improve the electoral process. IRI and NDI recognize that it is the people of Zimbabwe who ultimately determine the credibility of their elections. Legal Framework Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013 that guarantees citizens a wide array of electoral and political rights. It includes protections for women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) to enjoy the same rights as all other citizens and established, for the first time, an independent election management body (EMB)—the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)—responsible for all aspects of the electoral process. On May 28, just over two months before Election Day, the Electoral Act was amended to help bring it into alignment with the 2013 Constitution. The lower courts issued several decisions that demonstrated the independence of the judiciary. However, most of these decisions were either set aside or overturned upon appeal to higher courts giving the impression of bias in favor of the ruling party. It also included provisions to expedite the processing of cases of politically motivated violence and intimidation. Concerns remained however about the ability of Zimbabweans outside the country to exercise their right to vote; the continued existence of repressive laws that curtail the ability of Zimbabweans to fully realize their constitutional rights; provisions of the Electoral Act that could undermine the independence of ZEC; and the independence of the judiciary. Pre-Election Period