Stakeholders raised with the Observer Group concerns that the implementation of the National Assembly quota system resulted in political parties fielding fewer women across all levels for the Harmonised Elections. Parties used the quota as a ‘zero-sum game’ rather than as a benchmark for engaging women as part of the political process. According to reports by the Women in Politics Support Unit (WiPSU) and the African Union, 40 per cent (84 seats) of the 210 National Assembly seats were contested by men only. Moreover, women represented only 15 per cent of the total candidates seeking election at all levels. WiPSU noted an increase from 2013 in the number of women seeking to be elected to the local authorities. While the two main parties, ZANU-PF and MDC Alliance, had voluntarily committed to having 30 and 50 per cent of women candidates respectively, both parties managed to only field about 10 per cent of women candidates for the three elections. The four parties led by women presidential candidates fielded approximately 20 per cent of women contestants. Structural barriers to entry, such as the nomination fee imposed by the ZEC and the cost of campaigning, also posed challenges for women considering running. Other challenges that hindered women’s political participation included cultural barriers, the violence associated with elections, violence and abuse against women candidates, and lack of access to resources by women. Violence against women in elections The Group was informed that the 2018 elections were characterised by a rise in violence against women throughout the entire electoral cycle, both in physical spaces and online. The overall shift from inter-party to intra-party conflicts resulted in an increase in violence targeted at women as independent candidates and within political parties. As a result, it was reported to us that women experienced physical violence at the hands of party members, subtle threats, hate speech, misogyny and incidents of election-related violence against women and girls. According to findings by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in its July 2018 report, ‘women engaging in Zimbabwe’s elections as candidates, voters and journalists experienced devastating sexual extortion, physical violence, harassment and intimidation from their bosses, colleagues, religious leaders and domestic partners’.4 IFES notes that women were three times more likely to experience online harassment, including threats to their physical well-being, though men received 14 per cent more sexual-violence related harassment.5 The report pointed out that much of this content came from individuals in urban areas, like Harare, where connectivity to the internet is greater. The report also highlighted that women continue to experience violence, even once elected, making violence 4 International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Violence Against Women in Elections in Zimbabwe: An IFES Assessment, page vi, available at: http://www.ifes.org/publications/newassessment-violence-against-women-elections-zimbabwe (accessed 24 July 2018). 5 Ibid, page viii. 25