A. BACKGROUND TO THE ELECTION The first section of this report has dealt in detail with the longer‐term context of the 2013 election, detailing the shifts in Zimbabwe’s economic and therefore political base during the lifespan of the GPA, as well as referring to the months and weeks running up to the vote. This section will focus primarily on the voting figures and their immediate context. i. Fear and coercion While the 2013 election was not marred by widespread violence, the Zimbabwean population has fresh memories of the violence of the 2008 Presidential run‐off, in which thousands of people lost property, were beaten, or were displaced, and in which more than 300 people died. In 2013, while actual physical violence was seldom reported, there were many reports of threats of violence.74 Bearing in mind ZANU PF’s propensity to act on threats, the election outcome needs to be understood first and foremost in the context of three decades of violence against the opposition. In the wake of the 2013 election, there has in fact been retribution against known MDC‐T supporters in some parts of the country with loss of property and displacement, meaning that those who are too afraid to stand up against threats have good reasons for not doing so.75 The impact of political violence is not limited to rural areas. As noted in Part One of this report, the shift in the economic power base over the last decade has entrenched a coercive system of ZANU PF patronage in some urban and peri‐urban areas. The coercive nature of living in certain Harare suburbs or small towns such as Norton, in which ZANU PF has come to predominate in what were formally MDC‐T strongholds, has been previously described.76 ZANU PF has established a stronghold over Mbare in Harare in the last decade, where living in the area and maintaining ownership of a council house or a market stand has come to depend entirely on ZANU PF patronage.77 The large votes for ZANU PF and their wins in some peri‐urban and small town constituencies are a product of this. ii. The unlikelihood of Justice Martin Luther King stated that, “Peace is not the absence of violence, it is the presence of justice”, and the latter remains elusive in Zimbabwe today. The vast majority of victims of government‐instigated violence have never received justice, which feeds their reluctance to expose themselves to further losses. Furthermore, in every election since 2000, the MDCs have appealed aspects of the electoral outcome through the courts. However, these                                                              74 Chitemba, B, “Mugabe relative wreaking havoc, Zimbabwe independent, Harare, 2013. MDC‐T Information Department, press statement, 3 August 2013 cites “massive intimidation”. Sokwanele website lists 222 self reported incidents of intimidation. 75 Moyo, N, “MDC‐T condemns endless attacks on its supporters”, SWRadio Africa, 8 August 2013. In northern Lupane, two MDC‐T members had their homes burnt down on the night of 31 July. (Personal interviews.) 76 Alexander, J and Chitofori, K, “The consequences of Violent Politics in Norton, Zimbabwe, The Round Table, 99: 411, 673‐686. 2010. 77 Chikwanha, T, “Chipangano: An organised criminal network”, Daily News, Harare 20 July 2013 refers to Zanu PF control of Mbare via terror and coercion.   29