86 Appendix G inordinate media bias, intimidation of voters, partisan actions of some traditional leaders, politicization of food aid, the low number of women candidates fielded, false information circulated to undermine confidence in secrecy of the vote, under registration of urban voters, and failure to provide the preliminary voters roll in electronic format. As noted in the ZIEOM’s August 1 Preliminary Statement, overall, the pre-election process did not meet the mark. Zimbabweans came out on Election Day in great numbers. The voter turnout of approximately 85 percent demonstrated the populace’s desire for democratic governance and enthusiasm to participate in the electoral process. The polls were generally administered in accordance with procedures, and the voting environment was peaceful. In the densely populated urban areas of Harare, the ZIEOM noted long lines at some polling centers with confusion among voters about which sub-polling place was theirs resulting in voters being turned away and not permitted to vote. In addition, citizen observers reported high-levels of assisted voting, which could compromise secrecy of the ballot. Comparative electoral experience shows that such problems may have significant impacts, particularly on close elections. The immediate post-election period was seriously marred on August 1 by the excessive use of force, when the Zimbabwe Defence Forces opened fire killing six individuals as it sought to quell protests over the ZEC’s delayed reporting of presidential election results. Further tainting the immediate post-election period were credible reports to the ZIEOM of reprisals against opposition activists in certain parts of the country, and calls for the arrests of senior opposition officials. Among those arrested were newly elected Member of Parliament (MP) and opposition youth leader Happymore Chidziva and MP-elect and former Minister Tendai Biti, who was forcefully removed from Zambia where he sought political asylum. The disposition of criminal cases such as Biti’s are still pending. The ZEC released presidential election results in the aggregate on August 3 and within 24 hours provided polling station level results on CD-ROMs to stakeholders, which was an important act of transparency that allowed independent analysis of the results. Statistical analysis by citizen observers, who also noted pre-election and Election Day problems, found that the ZEC’s announced presidential results to be within a credible statistical range, though the margin of error indicated that a presidential runoff election was also within that range. The leading opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa challenged the ZEC’s announcement that incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa had won the election with just over 50 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff. On August 22, the Constitutional Court held a hearing to review the challenge to the announced presidential election results. The televised proceedings provided transparency, and the sides were allowed to briefly present arguments and address questions from the Court in a respectful and orderly process. The ZIEOM was concerned that the seven-day period provided by the legal framework for challengers to collect evidence might restrict the ability to prepare petitions adequately. Nonetheless, as international observers, the ZIEOM did not offer assessments on the merits of the matters weighed by the Court. On August 24, the Court unanimously determined that the petition did not meet the required evidentiary standards. It declared that Emmerson Mnangagwa was the winner of the presidential election and ruled that the petitioners had to pay the court costs of the other parties. The ZIEOM notes that the number of women elected as Members of Parliament (MPs) has