But by comparative African standards, fear of election violence remained on the high side in Zimbabwe (43%); for 24 countries covered by Afrobarometer in and around 2017, the continental average stood at 30%. Most importantly, Zimbabweans expressed concerns about the final stages of the election and especially the role therein of the military. Perhaps people remember earlier elections, when some security chiefs threatened to block any transfer of power to the political opposition. And they surely recall the heavy military presence in the “coup that was not a coup” of November 2017. In an effort to counteract popular concerns, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe Defence Forces denied on June 4 that soldiers were supervising the ruling party’s campaign in the countryside and tried to assure the public that the military would limit itself to an impartial role in the election. These appeals apparently fell on deaf ears. In both the May and July surveys (Figure 15), significant minorities of citizens reported that they expected that: • incorrect election results would be announced: 44% in May, 45% in July • the armed forces would not respect the election result: 41% in May, 44% in July • post-election violence would occur: 40% in May, 44% in July Majorities expressed these concerns in the cities and towns. In sum, as the day of the vote approached, citizen apprehensions about yet another disputed election with a violent aftermath were on the rise. Figure 15: Popular concerns about election’s final stages | Zimbabwe | May-July 2018 100% 80% 60% 44% 45% 40% 41% 44% 40% 44% 20% 0% Incorrect results will be announced Security agencies There will be won't accept violence after presidential election election results are results announced Early May 2018 Copyright ©2018 Early July 2018 13