There was little tinkering with the media laws in the name of media reform. The electorate’s right to free, unbiased and accurate information was still curtailed. In practice, the state did not allow voter education by non-state actors. It was under this electoral environment that Zimbabwe went to the 29 March 2008 Harmonized (Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government) Elections. The presidential result was eventually announced on 2 May, five weeks after the polling. These showed that the election did not produce a majority winner as required by law. The law required the winner to have 50% plus one vote. According to section 101(3) of the Electoral Act [Chapter 2 : 01], a second election (also known as a run-off) was to decide the election. The leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, had garnered more votes (47.3%) than Robert Mugabe (42%). The run-off was eventually set for 27 June 2008 and it turned out to be another bloodbath. By 20 June 2008, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights had recorded 85 deaths in political violence since the first round of voting. On 22 June 2008 Morgan Tsvangirai announced that “a credible election, which reflects the will of the people is impossible” and that the MDC–T had decided to withdraw from the presidential run-off. More specifically he accused the State of sponsoring violence, of crippling the MDC’s election campaign, decimating MDC structures through widespread arrests and detentions and silencing the media. He further accused the ZEC of bias and complicity with efforts by ZANU(PF) to rig the elections. On 23 June 2008 a letter withdrawing from the run-off was delivered to the ZEC.20 On 25 June, the Chairperson of the ZEC issued a press statement saying that the notice of withdrawal by Tsvangirai had been filed out of time, that it had no legal effect, and that the ZEC would proceed with the election on 27 June. The presidential run-off was held on 27 June and the results were announced on 29 June; Robert Mugabe was declared President with 90% of the vote. Robert Mugabe was sworn in as President by Chief Justice Chidyausiku on 29 June 2008, the same day the results of the one-man election were announced. There was an outcry and public condemnation of the process throughout the world, including from African observer teams. The SADC Election Observer Mission concluded: “The election did not represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”21 It was this outcry and the crippling collapse of the economy which drove the main political parties to the negotiating table. On 10 July 2008, ZANU(PF) and the two MDC formations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in which they agreed “to commit themselves to a dialogue with each other with a view to creating a genuine, viable, permanent and sustainable solution to the Zimbabwean situation”.22 The MoU kick-started the negotiating process. As the negotiations dragged on, civil society organizations realized that justice would only come with political change, and yet the protracted negotiations created new fears that change would come at the expense of justice.23 Taking Transitional Justice to the People – Outreach Report 11