Zimbabwe elections - fair or unfair? What does research say?

 A statement made by William Hague criticised the conduct of the recent Zimbabwe elections. John  Kerry US secretary of State also expressed concerns.
However other observers have welcomed the outcome as valid.

The African Union praised the elections.
You can view statements from the EU mission on their website 
The Commonwealth currently has statements on past elections.
Local human rights groups who observed the situation from the ground include:
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network- their website has a map of reported incidents. Plus background information on democratization programmes.
Zimbabwe Democracy Institute - has press releases on the election plus links to recent research on democracy and politics. 
Sokwanele - Zimbabwe election watch is mourning the loss of hope
Womens Coalition of Zimbabwe provides a comment from the field on this blog.
NDI - has statements and reports on the political conditions 

 News services- include
Fair and free elections - is tracking news reports on events and reaction.
BBC coverage
Zimbabwean
Newsday - Zimbabwe
Independent - Zimbabwe

The following organisations report on human rights and the state of democracy in the region
Crisis in Zimbabwe coalition. civil society network of over 72 organisations. 
International Crisis group
Amnesty International 
Human Rights Watch 
Council on Foreign relations has some papers including comment on the impact of the elections on relations with South Africa.
 
finally the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has background on the laws