ZESN Report on the 31 July 2013 Harmonised Elections INTRODUCTION Elections promote direct citizen participation in governance, transfer or maintain political power in a peaceful manner, and confer legitimacy and the authority to govern. It is a pre requisite that in order to fully participate in electoral processes one must have sufficient information about the available choices of candidates, and has the opportunity to choose freely, expressing this in the ballot box, and that the choice is reflected in the final election outcome. Elections are a process and events in the pre-election period affect the ability of voters to make a choice. This report analyses the legal framework, voter registration, voter education, the campaign period and Election Day, among other issues. In making an assessment of the elections, ZESN also examines the conduct of key events in the election calendar before and after the election proclamation, up to the announcement of results and the responses to those results by the contesting parties. In addition, the report examines the environment in which the election was conducted; that is, the opportunity to support one's choice of candidate, to participate in political campaigns, and to hold political opinions and to express those choices. The report also examines the conduct of different stakeholders, such as the candidates, the media, traditional leaders and the security forces. ABOUT ZESN The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) is a coalition of 31 non-governmental organisations formed to co-ordinate activities pertaining to elections. The major focus of the Network is to promote democratic processes in general and free and fair elections in particular. ZESN was also established to standardise the NGOs’ election-related activities and methodology, as well as to ensure wider geographical coverage and co-ordination of activities. The broad aim of the Network is therefore to enhance the electoral process in Zimbabwe in order to promote democracy and good governance in general, and free and fair elections in particular, whilst adhering to internationally acceptable standards. The vision of ZESN is a Zimbabwe where a democratic electoral environment and processes are upheld and its mission is to promote democratic elections in Zimbabwe. The objectives of ZESN are:     To enhance citizen participation in issues of governance and democracy. To promote democratic free and fair electoral processes through objectively and impartially monitoring and observing elections. To promote the creation of a legal framework and an election culture for free and fair elections. To effectively gather, disseminate and communicate objective information about elections and other democratic processes. 10 | P a g e