PART E Reports from stakeholders This section summarises reports of some of the local and international observer missions by local and Summary of Local Observers reports The Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace- Zimbabwe The CCJPZ 2018 elections report noted some improvements in the 2018 Harmonized Elections. According to the report, the pre-election period was relatively peaceful with less incidents of overt violence save for incidences of harassment and intimidation in the form of the narrative of fear motivated by promises of a return of 2008 political, politicization of humanitarian aid and agricultural inputs and the threats of eviction from the land which have become a common and ‘normalized’ political life in most Zimbabwean rural communities. As such, some poor and marginalized citizens, who are the majority of voters, were heavily squeezed to give up democracy and political independence to secure their residential places and benefit from welfare and humanitarian aid. Thus since 2008, through 2013 to 2018, majority of Zimbabwean voters, especially from the rural areas have voted under duress. Fear and desperation have been the common denominators. “It is under such circumstances where the “freeness” and “fairness” of 2018 Harmonized Elections becomes heavily compromised.” The Zimbabwe Gender Commission The Zimbabwe Gender Commission in its preliminary report applauded the comparatively peaceful environment before and during the elections. The reports however with concern the following gender issues. Although women constituted the majority of voters, their participation as candidates was limited as evidenced by the low number of women who succeeded in the primary elections of different political parties (15% at National Assembly and 17% at local Government). In the actual election the results show that only 12.4% women were elected outside the women’s quota for National Assembly. Further the report noted the conscious targeting of women as voters, candidates and election officials in hate speech, inflammatory language and 46