relating to strengthening the judiciary, particularly in its role in hearing election petitions. Conclusions: The post-election environment, within which the results process occurred, was, regrettably, marred by political violence and the heavy-handedness of security forces. The protracted release of results, in a manner that was less than transparent, fuelled tensions. These issues undermined citizens’ and observers’ trust and confidence in the electoral process. Overall assessment Important gains were made in these elections. The markedly improved pre-election environment, where all parties were generally able to campaign freely, is to be commended. The polls on 30 July were conducted in a peaceful manner, and were well managed and transparent. For the first time, four out of a record 23 presidential candidates were women – although more needs to be done to improve women’s political representation in Zimbabwe. However, the acute bias of the state media in favour of the governing party, the ZEC’s limitations in the implementation of its mandate as identified in this report, persistent allegations of intimidation reported to the Group and the unfair use of incumbency privileges, unlevelled the playing field in favour of the governing party. The post-election violence, which resulted in fatalities, and the behaviour of security forces, marred this phase of the elections. For these reasons, the Commonwealth Observer Group is unable to endorse all aspects of the process as credible, inclusive and peaceful. xiii