40 IRI/NDI Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission Final Report broadcasting advertisements. No penalties were applied to either the offending candidate nor to the media publisher.61 Media Monitors Zimbabwe (MMZ), a CSO that provided objective analysis of the media landscape during the entire election period, found that coverage of political parties followed historical trends in favoring ZANU-PF. Despite instruction from ZEC to the BAZ to provide equal coverage to all political parties, MMZ concluded that ZANU-PF commanded the biggest share of coverage with 53 percent of the total coverage allocated to political parties. By comparison, the MDC Alliance received only 20 percent, while the remaining 27 percent was distributed among 120 political parties and independents. The unequal representation of parties in the media,62 which favored ZANU-PF and its presidential candidate, led to a highly polarized environment dominated by stateowned or government controlled media. ZIEOM noted that social media played a significant role during the election period. Overall, digital media was more balanced than traditional media. Candidates utilized social media to publish their policies, however, attacks on political opponents and disinformation campaigns were also prevalent, and the overall environment was negatively affected by hate speech and an excessive focus on personalities versus substantive policy positions. The 2018 election saw an increase in instances of intimidation against women in elections on social media. In particular, the MDC Alliance was responsible for numerous documented attacks against women in elections. For example, independent candidate Jesse Majome was exposed to verbal abuse and intimidation after she was forced to leave MDC Alliance and run as an independent candidate; MDC-T Presidential candidate Thokozane Khupe was abused following her split from the Alliance; and Chairperson of the ZEC Justice Priscilla Chigumba was the subject of criticism in matters pertaining to her private life, among other attacks. There were no repercussions for the political parties or journalists involved. Civil Society and Domestic Observation During the 2018 elections cycle, numerous CSOs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community groups monitored the harmonized elections with more freedom to operate than in past elections. This was seen as a positive step toward increasing the democratic space and a healthy indicator of progress toward competitive multi-party elections whereby CSOs could objectively and impartially operate and monitor the process unfettered. Zimbabwe’s active CSO community contributed to the 2018 electoral process in various ways, including through voter education, monitoring, voter registration drives, and conflict mediation. The Election Resource Center (ERC), the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), Heal Zimbabwe Trust, Habbakuk Trust, and Veritas were among those that were election focused, while Media Monitors Zimbabwe and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) concentrated on the media aspects of the elections. These organizations conducted various monitoring, voter mobilization, and voter education activities during the period preceding the July 30 elections and deployed teams of citizen observers on Election Day. 61 The law requires that the MMC produce a final report, but to date ZIEOM noted a report was not published. ZANU PF was dominant in the political advertising space with 6,483 seconds on television, 774 seconds on national radio, and 22 adverts in The Herald (23 in the private press). Independent candidates were next with 71 seconds on national television, 284 seconds on national radio, and 2 adverts in the private press. 62