expression. ZANU-PF supporters were implicated in serious incidents of violence and intimidation against MDC activists, and the use of food and agricultural inputs as political tools against the opposition. 11 Prior to the March 29 elections, Human Rights Watch expressed serious concerns about the possibility of post-election violence due to the flawed nature of the electoral process and the failure of the government to address persistent political intolerance and impunity in Zimbabwe since the 2000 elections.12 Despite these pre-election conditions, ZANU-PF suffered an extraordinary and unexpected defeat at the hands of the MDC in parliamentary elections. The release of the results of the presidential elections, which took place on the same day, was delayed by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) after the ruling party questioned the validity of both the parliamentary and presidential elections. The ZEC called for a recount in 23 constituencies,13 but this brought no significant changes in the results. The delay in the announcement of the presidential results seriously heightened political tensions in the country.14 On May 2, more than a month after the general election, the ZEC finally announced the presidential results with Morgan Tsvangirai winning 47.9 percent of the vote and the incumbent Robert Mugabe winning 43.2 percent.15 Under Zimbabwe’s electoral laws, the failure of the leading candidate to win a 50 percent plus one vote majority necessitated a runoff between the two leading candidates,16 which the ZEC set for June 27.17 Human Rights Watch, All Over Again: Human Rights Abuses and Flawed Electoral Conditions in Zimbabwe’s Coming General Elections, vol. 20, no. 2(A), March 19, 2008, http://hrw.org/reports/2008/zimbabwe0308/. 11 12 Ibid. “ZEC accepts vote recount,” News 24, April 10, 2008, http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-111662_2303398,00.html (accessed May 27, 2008). 13 14 After tallying the polling results, the MDC declared that Morgan Tsvangirai had won the vote by a majority of 50.3 percent. The delay in publishing the presidential results left the government open to allegations of attempting to manipulate the vote, and reduced the credibility of the results. “Zimbabwe announces poll results,” BBC news online, May 2, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7380445.stm, (accessed May 27, 2008). 15 Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 2007, Amendments to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act [Chapter 2:12] (No. 22 of 2004), the Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] (No. 25 of 2004) and the Traditional 16 Leaders Act [Chapter 29:17] (No. 25 of 1998). “Zimbabwe names date for run-off,” BBC news online, May 16, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7404603.stm (accessed May 27, 2008). 17 13 Human Rights Watch 2008