ZESN Report on the 31 July 2013 Harmonised Elections Clause 4. 1.5 Timeous announcement of the election date Clause 4.1.7 Polling stations should be situated in neutral places. Clause 4.1.8 Counting of votes at polling stations. The election date was announced abruptly, giving the electoral authorities and political parties little time to prepare for the elections. There was little time for other processes, such as objections to entries in the voters’ roll among others. Most polling stations were located in neutral places. All votes were counted at polling stations. ZESN’s assessment shows that there was limited, and at times, non-compliance with SADC’s election guidelines and principles and this impacted on the fairness of the process. The SADC observer mission’s reluctance to call the elections fair and its reference to them as “generally credible” is a term not found in the guidelines and is a vague description of the election. SADC is lowering its own standards, as peace is not the only criteria for a credible poll. Drawing from all ZESN’s observations in the pre-election, polling and post-election periods, the 2013 harmonized elections cycle was relatively calm and peaceful. However, it is ZESN’s view that it is not sufficient for elections to be peaceful. ZESN therefore reiterates its concerns on the many critical factors affecting this election, such as inadequate and delayed voter education, the inadequate and flawed voter registration process, failure to make the voters’ roll available to political parties and stakeholders in time, chaotic special voting, and the high numbers of assisted and turned away voters. As a result, these challenges seriously compromised the credibility and fairness of the 31 July 2013 harmonised elections. ZESN encourages Zimbabweans to maintain peace and tranquillity, and to work towards the building of Zimbabwe’s socio-economic prosperity to ensure the holding of credible and fair elections in the future. 80 | P a g e