ZESN - Promoting Democratic Elections in Zimbabwe 17. Post-Election Environment The post-election environment was marred by protests in Harare by opposition supporters who alleged manipulation of presidential election results. The heavy-handed response by the security forces, whereby the citizens and protesters were indiscriminately assaulted was widely condemned by both domestic and international observers and the media, in particular the shooting that led to the death of civilians, including some who were reportedly not part of the protestors. In the days that followed, there were reports of unofficial curfews and a crackdown targeted at residents of some highdensity suburbs of Harare, such as Dzivarasekwa, Budiriro, and Kuwadzana. Reports of political retribution targeted at opposition political agents especially in the rural areas were also received. allegations of human rights violations and bring the perpetrators of electoral related violence to book. Commission of Inquiry-August 1, 2018 Following sustained calls for investigations into the killings and assault on protesters on 1 August, 2018 by local, regional, and international observers, President Mnangagwa set up a Commission of Inquiry on 29 August, 2018. The Commission is led by the former South African President, Kgalema Motlanthe. Other regional and international members include Mr Rodney Dixon QC, former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria, Chief of Defence Forces of the Tanzania People's Defence Forces, General (Retired) Davis Mwamunyange. In addition, three locals namely; constitutional lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku, University of Zimbabwe Lecturer Professor Charity Manyeruke, and former President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, Mrs Vimbai Nyemba, are part of the team. Some stakeholders questioned the selection criteria for the local Commissioners arguing that they were aligned to the ruling party thus inhibiting their ability to objectively carry out an independent inquiry. An additional concern highlighted is that there are existing institutions namely the ZHRC and the NPRC whose mandates are similar to the Terms of References of the Commission of Inquiry that could have been engaged to conduct the inquiry. There were also cases of the withdrawal of food aid in what has been perceived as retaliatory acts. ZESN LTOs also made efforts to verify social media reports of human rights abuses in their constituencies. Intimidation was reported in 19% of constituencies, although reported incidents dropped to some extent in the last week of August. In Maware village, Makonde constituency ward 9 in Mashonaland West province, there were threats of a follow up exercise by the ruling party to determine who voted for the MDC Alliance. In light of the forgoing, it is imperative for the ZHRC and the NPRC to investigate these 64 REPORT ON THE 30 JULY 2018 HARMONISED ELECTIONS ZESN