* (p=0.01) Rural women also felt that their choices were wholly unconstrained in contrast to the urban women. This is difficult to interpret in the light of so many reports over the years indicating that rural voters are much more likely to experience intimidation or political violence than their urban contemporaries. However, it makes sense that women who felt that they were free to choose would also feel that the election was free and fair, and this finding also makes sense in the light of the earlier finding that rural women reported significantly less problems in being registered as voters. The final finding, that urban women were more likely to state that the elections reflected the will of the voters, given that they were more likely to see problems than rural women, is difficult to interpret. Is this a statement of resignation or acceptance of an unlikely result, or does it reflect a view that, because the elections were peaceful, this is a fair result? Could it also be a case in point that the survey was done soon after the elections and there was subtle fear in the electorate to voice their concern? 15 This would require more investigation. Overall, it would appear that the fact that the elections in 2013 were peaceful, (the absence of violence) did not reduce the oft-reported disparities between rural and urban voters: urban women reported irregularities significantly more frequently than rural women, and accordingly were less satisfied with the outcome. Voting procedure As can be seen from Table 8, the rural group was unanimous in their views that the electoral process was wellrun, and significantly more so than the urban group, even though the urban group also had high numbers that agreed with these views. Table 8: Views on election procedures [rural vs. urban] Polling Station Opened On Time Ballot paper was easy to read (Presidential poll) Ballot paper was easy to read (House of Assembly poll) Ballot paper was easy to read (Local Government poll) Ballot papers were clearly marked There was enough information to register as a voter The electoral environment encouraged women to vote Rural 95%* 95 %* 95% * Urban 86% 79% 79% 95%* 81% 98%* 91%* 80%* 82% 78% 64% * (p=0.01) So, there were no problems with the actual voting, but there was stronger approval from rural than urban women. Voting for Women There was a very strong overall trend in both groups to support women candidates: 94% stated that it was important to vote for a woman. Most (73%) felt that it was important for political parties to reserve seats for women, but less than half (43%) felt that women were adequately represented in government 16. 15 Interestingly, a year after the results, women from Goromonzi and Marondera commented about having the wrong person in place of the one they wanted. An example was given where the councilors all belonged to one party and the MP to a different party. This was interpreted by the women that the MP was probably imposed because the likelihood of the electorate swinging between candidates and the party was very low. The presidential candidate was acceptable if he/she differed from the councillors, but it was not acceptable that the MP differed from the councillors. Is this also a reflection that electorate are likely to vote for a party and not the candidate. 16 The rural sub-group was significantly happier about representation in government than the urban sub-group. Page 12