The EU maintained that they remained in close consultation with SADC, the AU and other observers including civil society, in advance of the official results. The EU would “await the assessment of SADC and the AU on the process and reported irregularities, as well as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s official announcement of the results, before announcing its own assessment.” 20 Morgan Tsvangirai On 11 August 2013 Morgan Tsvangirai posted a statement on his Facebook page, which he immediately deleted for fear of contempt of court charges and the statement read “My case has been so seriously undermined that it has become impracticable for me to proceed. It is a decision I took with a heavy heart to withdraw the Constitutional Court case challenging the results of the July 31 fraudulent elections. Primarily, the failure by the Electoral Court to deliver judgment in a case in which I was demanding electoral records to use as evidence has severely undermined the Constitutional Court case, which was going to be heard tomorrow in the absence of key material such as an electronic copy of the voters’ roll, full set of presidential results per constituency and special voting records. The delay in making a determination on the availability of the material seriously undermined the presidential challenge. It leaves me with serious reservations on the credibility of the court process in the absence of the crucial material. As I said before, it’s flabbergasting that I had to go to court to force ZEC, a public body, to release records, which should be readily available to the public. The Electoral Court’s actions worsened the situation. It is shocking that the court, in its wisdom, chose to sit on such a crucial matter in an act, which effectively sabotaged my case. The battle is far from over though. I have repeatedly talked about our courts and how we need other options to win this fight. Those alternatives have always been on the table and we will be rolling them out soon.” African Union On 1 November 2013, the African Union Election Observer Mission finally released its final report on Zimbabwe’s elections, in which it endorsed the process as having conformed to continental standards on the conduct of elections, and an accurate expression of the will of Zimbabweans. The report came as no surprise to many observers as it simply confirmed the position taken by the AU observer mission head Olusegun Obasanjo, who pronounced the Zim poll as being credible and legitimate a few days after 31 July. The report included some concerns and recommendations which related to what civil society groups and the MDC formations argued as being “serious anomalies that discredited the electoral process such as the absence of the voters’ roll, inequitable access to the media and recommended liberalization of radio and television ownership, thereby providing a broader platform for all stakeholders to voice their opinions, consistent with the stipulations of the new Constitution.” Subsequent Elections challenge issues On 6 November 2013, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) rejected a request by Jameson Timba, the MDC-T losing parliamentary candidate for Mt Pleasant constituency and the party’s secretary for international relations to open and examine election materials used in his constituency during the disputed July harmonized elections. On 11 November Zimbabwe’s Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede said he was ‘unable’ to provide an electronic copy of the voters role used in the July 2013 elections because the machines were ‘broken’. In response to ZAPU leader Dumiso Dabengwa’s efforts to obtain as is required in law, the exact electronic copy that was used in the elections, Rita Makarau told the ZAPU leader there would not be an electronic copy anytime soon21. 20 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/138489.pdf 21 http://www.zimeye.org/?p=94082 53