least 24 post-election politically linked arrests. Such matters included the arrest of Tendai Biti, former minister of finance and leader of the opposition PDP party, who argued that he was illegally removed from Zambia where he had sought asylum, his brother Steven Biti who ostensibly was being arrested as a bait on Tendai as well as Morgan Komichi, the MDC Chairperson who was arrested for allegedly interrupting, obstructing and disturbing proceedings related to the announcement of results of the 2018 elections. These arrests and detentions targeted the leadership of the MDC Alliance, and almost a month after the arrests, none of the matters has been tried. There could be concern that in certain matters, police was conducting arrests in order to investigate the perpetration of alleged offences, instead of the internationally accepted principle of investigating before arresting.111 The apparent systemic arrest of the opposition was widespread and was also observed in areas other than in Harare. LTOs reported of the arrest of a known MDC Alliance activist and party member in Gokwe South who was accused of possessing sensitive political information, while in Bindura South, a re-elected ZANU PF MP was acquitted on intimidation charges by a a local Village Head in a court decision of 9 August. In Chegutu, two MDC supporters were arrested while celebrating the results, and accused of disturbing peace and security and of disorderly conduct in a public place; they were released on bail. In Bulawayo, three persons were brought before the Magistrate’s Court charged with minor offences on election-day.112 In Makoni district, there has been one official complaint recorded with the resident Magistrate and a few more incidents reported to the police. Despite the seemingly politically motivated arrests of mainly opposition supporters and activists, it is noted also that in Mbire district, three ZANU-PF supporters were arrested on election-day for intimidation of people queueing to vote. XVI Conclusion The elections were competitive, the campaign was largely peaceful and, overall, political freedoms during the pre-election campaign, including freedom of movement, assembly and speech, were respected. However, the misuse of state resources, instances of coercion and intimidation, partisan behaviour by traditional leaders and overt bias in state media, all in favour of the ruling party, meant that a truly level playing field was not achieved, which negatively impacted on the democratic character of the pre-electoral environment. Election Day passed peacefully, was generally well-managed and conducted mostly in an orderly manner. Some procedural irregularities were observed as well as instances of results not being 111 For instance, the case of an election agent in Gokwe, allegedly assaulted by ZANU PF members, who when approached the police to report the incident was subsequently arrested for assault, could be a case in point. Another example is the mass arrest of all people who were found at MDC Headquarters on 2 August 2018, when the police raided the offices in pursuit of a specific warrant of arrest granted to look for computers or any subversive material, unlicenced firearms, ammunition, or stones which may have been used in the commission of acts of public violence. 112 An MDC supporter for wearing campaign regalia in the vicinity of a polling station, a person who refused to have his finger marked and to leave the polling station, and one person due to violent conduct after he was informed he was not eligible to vote. 47