framework; international and regional standards that government the conduct of democratic elections, observers’ Code of Conduct; dos and don’ts of observers; security; and observation checklists that the mission was going to use. The Mission received briefings from civil society organisations, the Police, MDC Alliance, ZANU PF, Coalition for Democrats (CODE), ZEC, the academia and political analysts. The Mission also engaged with other observer missions representing, the African Union, SADC Election Observer Mission, SADC Parliamentary Forum, and Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA). The Mission also attended the final rallies of the ZANU PF and the MDC Alliance. The Mission was deployed in 8 provinces for 3 days; Bulawayo, Harare, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands, as shown in Figure 1 below. 10