When polling ended on June 27 there were slightly more voters than those who turned up for the March 29 harmonized elections. The election cannot be written-off on the basis of voter intimidation although it is acknowleged that the conditions on the ground were not very ideal. I would have been worried if Mugabe had won by say the same number of votes he had in March 29 because the issue of voter apathy would be glaring. However, he managed to double his votes and so it is hard to explain that in terms of mere voter intimidation. Remember that he got significant increases in votes even in the urban areas chiefly believed to be Tsvangirai strongholds. Mugabe achieved it through a cleverly orchestrated campaign that focused on a empowerment agenda that galvanized the spirit of nationalism amongst Zimbabweans. Tsvangirai on the other hand spent almost a month outside the country, and even his adverts in the independent media were fewer and lacked the finesse in Mugabe's adverts. Coming back to the issue of intimidation, it is important to be mindful of the fact that Zimbabweans are amongst the most educated in Africa and will not be fooled by cheap intimidation tactics such as being told that the secret ballot is not so secret. Zimbabweans have a leader of their choice and talks by European countries that they will only recognise Tsvangirai are counterproductive and serve only to further entrench sentiments that Tsvangirai represents a foreign agenda in the eyes of Zimbabweans.