So in an atmosphere of calm, Zimbabweans went to the polls in their somewhat less than droves. Having seen the footage of thousands of people queuing into the night in the last election, I find it significant that so few people turned out this time.

It has been well documented that while violence has not been as widespread this time round (although it is thought that an MDC supporter was murdered in a politically motivated attack earlier this week) subtler intimidation tactics are being used. As well as the withholding of food from opposition supporters, the threat of violence is purported to have been used. Mugabe has promised his diplomatic allies in South Africa a peaceful election, and so he is keeping the lid on things. That doesn’t mean that it is free and fair. It doesn’t mean that people are not being coerced into voting for a party they do not want. It does not mean that wide spread rigging will not take place. It has been documented that there are as many as hundreds of thousands of ‘ghost’ voters – people who have died but whose names appear – on the electoral roll. And some known MDC supporters who are alive have found that they do not appear on it.

In the meantime, a group of women praying peacefully in Harare’s central square (ironically named ‘Unity Square’) have been arrested. My stepdad was there, and was also briefly detained, but has since returned home. The only thing that makes this election any different to previous, more widely reported ones is is that Mugabe has been putting on a semblance of a free election, to lend himself some legitimacy this time round.