6 Recently, the protection of property rights has been severely infringed upon in the government’s pursual of its controversial land-reform policies. The Electoral Act The legal framework for elections is provided in the constitution, mainly from the Electoral Act, though it is also guided by the principles behind the Declaration of Rights. For the purpose of this work, the portion of the Electoral Act that will concern us is how the Act defines the grounds under which an election may be nullified. The Act defines corrupt practices; that is, acts committed by candidates or their agents that would result in the forfeiture of an election outcome. These include treating, undue influence, bribery, impersonation and illegal transportation of voters. Undue influence is the most important of these. It defines someone who is guilty of undue influence as: Any person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or with any other person• Makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence or restraint or any unnatural means whatsoever upon or against any person; or • Inflicts or threatens to inflict by himself or by any other person any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person; or • Does or threatens to do anything to the disadvantage of any person; • In order to induce or compel that person…to vote or refrain from voting… • Any person who by abduction, duress, threats to invoke any unnatural means whatsoever or references to such unnatural means or by fraudulent device or contrivance• Impedes or prevents the exercise of his vote by a voter; or • Compels, induces or prevails upon a voter either to vote or to refrain from voting at an election The June 2000 parliamentary elections witnessed a massive campaign of violence and intimidation. In effect, the government hoped to apply as much “undue influence” on the electorate necessary to ensure their own victory at the polls iv. iv See AMANI TRUST (2002), Organised Violence and Torture in the June 2000 General Election in Zimbabwe, HARARE: AMANI TRUST. AMANI TRUST: Neither Free nor Fair: High Court decisions on the petitions on the June 2000 General Election.