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By-elections
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Weekly Media Update 2007-6
Monday February 12^th 2007 – Sunday February 18^th 2007

LIKE the previous week, the media maintained their low-key coverage of the Chiredzi South by-election and several local government polls held concurrently in various parts of the country on February 17^th.

The government Press carried 11 reports on the matter. Of these, six were on ZANU PF campaigns and the rest were on the administration of the election.

Campaign activities of the opposition were ignored. The nearest the papers came to reporting opposition activities was when the Chronicle (16/2) relegated comments by the MDC’s Nelson Chamisa about his party’s prospects to the end of a ZANU PF campaign story.

Four of the stories on election administration were on the electoral authorities’ announcements on the location of polling stations, while one was on voting patterns in Chiredzi. Notably, the official papers ignored the local government elections.  

ZBC adopted a similar trend.

All its 14 campaign stories were on ZANU PF and none on the opposition. Like the official Press, ZBC briefly referred to the opposition’s participation in the polls in stories on the ruling party.

So obsessed with campaigning for the ruling party that the broadcaster even embedded the party’s campaign activities in stories on Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s preparations for the polls.

For example, while ZTV (13/02, 8pm) announced that ZEC was ready for the Chiredzi poll because “all logistics” were in place, the accompanying footage first showed a ZANU PF rally before the ZEC spokesman could give details on the commission’s readiness.

Instead of subjecting ZEC’s preparedness to scrutiny, the reporter simply stated: “Campaigns are being conducted peacefully and at the weekend Zanu PF national chairman, John Nkomo, was in the constituency…where he urged [Zanu PF supporters] to rally behind…Callisto Gwanetsa.”

The government media’s unbalanced coverage of the polls was reflected by their sourcing patters as shown in Figs 2 and 3.

Fig. 1 Voice distribution on ZBC

Fig. 2 Voice distribution in the government Press

Although the private media also paid scant attention to the polls, they did report the alleged political manipulation of food supplies by ZANU PF and crude threats by its officials against the electorate, which clearly indicated the undemocratic political environment in which the polls were held.

They carried six stories on the subject, of which four featured in the private electronic media and one each in the Independent and The Standard.

For example, SW Radio Africa (13/02) revealed that Chiefs’ Council President Fortune Charumbira had “urged chiefs to deny opposition supporters food” because they were “sell-outs”. Reportedly, he also called on all traditional leaders to “support the Zanu PF candidate” and told “villagers who want to get food aid” to “denounce their parties first”.

The Independent carried a similar report.

The Zimbabwean (15/2) also reported former army commander and ZANU PF Senator Vitalis Zvinavashe threatening that government would “deploy soldiers” to Chiredzi South if ZANU PF lost the election to the “British sponsored-MDC” because those who would vote for the opposition would be deemed “rebels”.

The Standard (18/2) exposed the voter apathy and the barring of some MDC polling agents from voting stations.

Studio 7 (16/02) quoted the Zimbabwe Election Support Network saying that “the conditions for the Chiredzi South by-election fall short of regional standards for democratic elections.”

However, the private electronic media dented their coverage by relying on a narrow sourcing pattern.

Fig. 3 Voice distribution in the private electronic media

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