Conduct of the campaign Campaign methods The main methods of campaigning by the better-resourced political parties included rallies, door-to-door campaigning, paid TV and radio advertisements, and promotion through billboards and posters. With the exception of a report we received that one political party had been refused a permit to organise a rally on 24 July, political parties and their supporters appeared to have enjoyed the freedom to campaign. We witnessed a number of rallies, including the final ones of ZANU-PF and MDC Alliance on Saturday 28 July in Harare, which were colourful, robust and wellattended. Those in attendance included large numbers of youth and women. We noted also that the governing party’s visual presence in the campaign was dominant, with the most, and often the largest, billboards and posters, seen around the country. Key campaign themes The main campaign themes of the political parties contesting the poll included building the economy, infrastructural development and closer ties with the international community, including the Zimbabwean diaspora. Specifically, ZANU-PF had as its main campaign themes: leadership, fighting corruption, development of the country, job creation, re-engagement with the international community and national unity. The MDC Alliance, in its manifesto, pledged to build a shared and inclusive economy of US$100 billion within 10 years,12 reconstruction of the country’s infrastructure, to undertake currency reforms, social justice, and service delivery in healthcare, education and housing. The MDC-T campaigned on the platform of ‘Building an Economy to Support Transformation’. The party aimed to address similar key issues as outlined by ZANU-PF‚ with an emphasis on workers’ rights and their place in the economy. The manifestos of the other political parties had similar themes with varying emphases. Transformation of the public enterprise and security sectors, gender parity and environmental sustainability being among some of the other topics raised by other political parties. Considering the similarity of the party platforms, voters were left to make their choice based mainly on other factors, such as historical voting patterns, the urban– rural divide, and the personality and leadership qualities of the candidates. There was no televised presidential debate, as both major presidential candidates reportedly refused to participate. 12 The 2017 gross domestic product (GDP) of Zimbabwe was $17 billion. 40