The second round of voting in the Zimbabwean presidential election of 2008 was held between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai after the first round failed to produce a 50% majority for either candidate. The election process was marred by violence against and intimidation of voters and party workers, which eventually led to the withdrawal of Tsvangirai from the poll. This left Mugabe as the winner of, effectively, a one-candidate election.
Start of the second round
The Herald reported on 21 May that the ZANU-PF run-off campaign would be launched by Mugabe on 25 May at the party's national headquarters in Harare. According to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, 2,000 people would be invited to attend this main launch, although other launches would be held in wards across the country. Speaking at a police recruit graduation ceremony on 21 May, Mugabe again blamed the MDC for the violence, saying that it was "on an evil crusade of dividing our people along political lines".
Tsvangirai announced on 22 May that he planned to return to Zimbabwe on 24 May. Tsvangirai accordingly arrived from South Africa at the airport in Harare on 24 May. Speaking at a press conference later that day, Tsvangirai said that he did not think a national unity government was possible. He also expressed certainty in victory and described meeting with people who had been injured in the violence. Meanwhile, a truck carrying 60,000 copies of The Zimbabwean newspaper into Zimbabwe from South Africa was hijacked and burned, destroying the newspapers on board.
At the ZANU-PF official campaign launch on 25 May, Mugabe stressed Tsvangirai's Western backing, stating that the UK and US were joyful over the result of the first round and that some Zimbabweans wanted to "sell [their] country for candy, like children"; he said that Zimbabweans should instead "unite as a family against outsiders". In response to US Ambassador McGee's earlier call for Tsvangirai to return, he threatened to expel McGee from Zimbabwe, and he derided the MDC's claim of an assassination plot against Tsvangirai.
On 25 May, Tsvangirai attended the funeral of MDC activist Tonderai Ndira, who was, according to the MDC, killed on 14 May for political reasons after putting up posters. The MDC alleged that, out of 20 people who put up posters, three had been killed and five were missing, while four had been arrested and the remainder had gone into hiding. Meanwhile, in the Sunday Mail, Chinamasa emphasised the critical nature of the second round for ZANU-PF, saying that "we are fighting with our backs to the wall". It was reported on the same day that the Pan African Parliament would send 30 observers, due to arrive on 13 June, with an advance team preceding them on 10 June.
In an article published in The Herald on 26 May, Mnangagwa expressed confidence that Mugabe would win, but said that Mugabe would "be the first one to go on national television to acknowledge the result to the people" if he lost. Angolan Foreign Minister João Bernardo de Miranda said on the same day that SADC would increase the number of observers it was sending for the second round "so as to assure greater transparency and trust in the process". The MDC had requested more observers; on 26 May, Chamisa said that the MDC wanted "full coverage of all the polling stations", and he said that it was particularly important that the observers have a strong presence in rural areas, as the MDC believed that problems were more likely to occur there. He also requested that SADC send a security monitoring team.
On 27 May, Tsvangirai and Chamisa said that more than 50 supporters had been killed in the violence up to that point. According to Chamisa, important members of the MDC were being abducted and their bodies were being found a few days later. He also said that the MDC was given no access to the state media and that it was "almost impossible" for the party to hold rallies, with permission for the MDC's previous two rallies being given only after it appealed to the High Court. However, he said that the difficulties the party was facing were merely "birth pangs" marking the transition to a new Zimbabwe, noting that the codename for the MDC's campaign was "Let's Finish It". On the same day, three people, including two South Africans, were arrested in Bulawayo after police found broadcasting and computer equipment belonging to Sky TV, a British television network, hidden in a factory. According to state radio, the equipment had been there since 23 March; it also said that the arrested individuals had attempted to bribe the police with 25,000 rand.