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ZANU PF conference and succession
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Weekly Media Update 2006-49
Monday December 4th 2006 - December 10th 2006

THE government media glossed over ZANU PF's intra-party struggles ahead of its annual conference in Goromonzi. They devoted 23 reports to the topic, nine of which appeared on ZBC and 14 in government newspapers. Six of ZBC's stories merely focused on ordinary party preparations for the congress. An example was the morning announcement by all ZBC stations (8/12) that "Mashonaland East province had bought 80 cattle for the conference". No attempt was made to find out why this had happened or query the lavishness of the preparations.

The rest of the broadcaster's stories 'innocently' reported on the ruling party's plans to 'harmonize' the presidential and parliamentary elections by postponing the 2008 presidential election to coincide with the parliamentary poll of 2010 thereby extending President Mugabe's term by two years. As a result, they did not link it to ZANU PF's succession debate or explore its negative implications on the country's political and economic crises. For example, ZBC's morning bulletins (8/12) simply reported the "harmonization" campaign as a spontaneous development emanating from ZANU PF's annual provincial meetings.

Although the official papers gave greater attention to the subject, their reports were equally piecemeal and barely assessed the likely impact of the planned postponement of elections. Except for The Herald (9/12) interview with ZANU PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira, the official Press also avoided discussing the matter in the context of ZANU PF's succession battles. The Herald (4/12), for example, did not explore Mugabe's claims that the succession race had resulted in "some politicians . . . consulting sprit mediums" and "sprinkling snuff at State House" to "enhance their chances". Neither did the paper and the Chronicle (6/12) relate this revelation to Mugabe's calls for "unity" saying "divisions threatened to destroy the party"; nor with earlier remarks by Acting Information Minister Paul Mangwana denying factionalism in Masvingo (The Herald, 5/12).

It was against this background that The Herald (9/12) simply allowed Shamuyarira to justify the proposed synchronisation of elections, saying it was due to the party's desire to come up with the "best way of running our parliamentary system".

He was not asked why the process should be delayed to 2010.

The closed nature of the official media's debate on the topic was reflected in their dependence on ZANU PF opinions as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 Voice distribution in the government Press

Notably, all 15 voices that ZBC carried on the matter were ZANU PF.

The implications of electoral 'harmonization' were only exposed in the private media.

They carried 19 stories (private electronic media [8] and private papers [11], which mainly interpreted the proposal as an indication of widening differences in the ruling party ahead of the conference. They also linked the differences to succession.

Studio 7 (5/12) and the Zimbabwe Independent (8/12) reported that ZANU PF's Midlands and Harare provinces were proposing different agendas concerning the issue. While it reported Midlands proposing the two elections be held concurrently in 2008, Harare wanted them delayed.

In addition, the private media also reported on the party's ongoing scramble for the presidency. Those linked to this included ZANU PF heavyweights John Nkomo, Joice Mujuru, Emmerson Mnangagwa and Gono. However, New Zimbabwe.com (6/12) reported Gono excluding himself from the race saying he had "no plans...for presidency or any other political position". In one instance, The Financial Gazette (7/12) revealed that Mnangagwa wanted to sue Nkomo for defamation over statements he allegedly made implicating him in the 2004 Tsholotsho Declaration. Reportedly, Mnangagwa was offended by Nkomo's claims that he bankrolled the foiled "smart coup" against Mugabe and other senior party officials. The paper noted that the lawsuit between "two prospective rivals" in the succession race, "underscores the intense tussle among senior Zanu PF officials over President Mugabe's job", adding that its timing was "intriguing" as it came a week after Nkomo revealed his interest for presidency.

The Zimbabwe Independent (8/12) revealed that while other ZANU PF members were advocating "harmonisation" of elections, party secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa was "endorsing an indeterminate extension of Mugabe's term". The paper reported him as having told an online agency there was a "realistic chance" that "someone among the (conference) delegates or one of the provinces could come up with a proposal that . . . should make him president-for-life and . . . the party's presidential candidate until Amen".

However, the Independent quoted Mutasa denying making such comments.

While the official media avoided exploring the negative ramifications of the planned postponement of elections, The Standard (10/12) reported observers noting that the move "would only serve to prolong the stand-off with the international community" and result in the "further impoverishment of the people of Zimbabwe".

The private papers' sourcing pattern is shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 Voice distribution in the private Press

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