conditions to be adhered to by the conveners and party supporters. In an incident which stoked up tensions between President Robert Mugabe and his long-time rival turned coalition government partner Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, ahead of the elections, the ZRP through Chief Superintendent Titus Chagwedera, the Officer Commanding Harare Central District on Friday 26 July 2013 turned down the MDC-T’s notification to hold its final election campaign rally near Rainbow Towers in Harare on the grounds that the law enforcement agency did not have enough police personnel to cover the rally after deploying them to polling stations around the country to secure some election material. Chief Superintendent Chagwedera said the ZRP also feared that the MDC-T rally could “culminate in political violence.” However, in a major U-turn, Chagwedera on Saturday 27 July 2013 reversed the ban and sanctioned the MDC-T to proceed although he imposed some stringent conditions for the rally. On 19 July, ZLHR filed ex-parte applications at the Tredgold Magistrates Court in Bulawayo, seeking to overturn the ban imposed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on the holding of election debates in Midlands, Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North. The ZRP blocked six election debates organised by Bulawayo Agenda in Gweru, Plumtree, Tsholotsho and Lupane. The meetings were supposed to be held in early July and meant to facilitate interface between various political party candidates running for parliamentary office from across the political divide and the public so as to promote citizen participation in elections. The police told the organisers of the election debates that they were only allowing political parties to conduct their campaigns during the three weeks period leading to the harmonised elections as they claimed not to have enough manpower to ensure public order at civic society meetings. On 27 July 2013, Mutare Magistrate Noah Gwatidzo released on $30 bail Shuwa Mudiwa, the MDC-T aspiring parliamentary candidate for Mutare West constituency, who was arrested early in the morning for allegedly convening a meeting without securing police authority. Mudiwa was charged with contravening Section 25 (1) (b) of the Public Order and Security Act after he allegedly convened a meeting at Mashukashuka Business Centre, Marange, in Manicaland province on 26 July 2013. On 16 November ZANU PF youths staged a demonstration in front of the U.S embassy. On his facebook page Ambassador Bruce Wharton says, ‘I strongly support the right of peaceful protest and hope that all institutions and organizations in Zimbabwe will join in protecting that right’. On 22 November, a Harare magistrate acquitted the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Director, Abel Chikomo of charges for running an illegal organisation. The Magistrate noted that this was a case that should not even have been brought before the court because there was no evidence or merit. Please refer to full coverage of this case under “Rule of Law” above. 2c. Citizenship rights On 16 May 2013, Zimbabweans signed into law a new constitution that allows dual citizenship and restored citizenship rights to a lot of people who had been disenfranchised. On 26 June 2013, the new Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe has upheld dual citizenship. In the matter of Mutumwa Dziva Mawere v Registrar General & Another15, prominent businessman Mutumwa Mawere who holds South African citizenship and had lost his Zimbabwean citizenship applied to the court for an order declaring him a Zimbabwean citizen notwithstanding that he was also a South African citizenship. The court agreed with Mawere that the promulgation of the new constitution created new rights and that citizenship rights had been restored to those who were Zimbabweans by birth. Mawere filed an urgent Constitutional Court application asking the court to confirm constitutional provisions on dual citizenship and to stop the 30-day voter registration exercise until his case is finalized. 15 Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe case number 30/13 39