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Election coverage
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2008-4
Monday January 28th – Sunday February 3rd 2008

The government media continued to provide superficial and contaminated electoral information during the week less than eight weeks before national elections on March 29th. Coverage of the contesting parties’ activities remained heavily skewed in favour of the ruling party thereby violating local laws and regional principles relating to fair and "equitable" election coverage, while reporting on important voter information matters remained inadequate, distorted and patchy. In the few instances where voter information was covered, they were embedded in positive coverage of ZANU PF’s electoral preparations with no attempt to expose any electoral malpractice. This was reflected in the 102 stories they devoted to the topic: ZBC [57] and official papers [45]. Only the private media tried to report holistically on these issues in 40 stories.

a) Campaigns
The official media gave ZANU PF massively more coverage than the combined attention it gave to opposition parties. For example, of the 64 stories the papers devoted to the parties, 52 were on ZANU PF, nine on the MDC and the remainder on alternative opposition. Reportage on ZANU PF comprised passive news of its electoral preparations such as the primary elections to select candidates, which they presented as proceeding well. As a result, there was no investigation into allegations of divisions within the party and their impact on its preparations for the elections. This was particularly so in light of this week’s news that ZANU PF Politburo member Simba Makoni has publicly declared his intention to challenge President Mugabe for the presidency, confirming earlier private media reports of an internal rebellion.

Intra-party strife was only projected as the preserve of the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC, which the government media continued to present as disorganised and ever whining. This prejudiced view of the MDC was captured by a Herald cartoon (29/1) dismissively portraying Tsvangirai fretting about the breakdown of the talks between ZANU PF and the MDC, the issue of a new constitution, and the postponement of elections, among others, while ZANU PF’s primary elections were already under way. The official media selectively used certain artists and ZANU PF rallies to promote the party or ridicule the MDC. For instance, ZTV (29/1, 8pm) manipulated an entertainment report to campaign for ZANU PF citing musician Elizabeth Chinouriri appealing to Zimbabweans to "stand strong in the face of economic challenges" and "support the ruling government…"

Only alternative opposition were given fair coverage of their activities in the government media. More balanced and informative coverage of the parties’ activities only appeared in the private media. For example, The Zimbabwe Independent (1/2) revealed ZANU PF as a party in turmoil, barely holding the centre together. Not only did it discuss the possibility of a direct challenge to Mugabe from senior party officials such as Dumiso Dabengwa and Simba Makoni, allegedly with the support of civic society and senior ruling and opposition party cadres, it also reported on the eruption of "serious infighting in the party as aspiring candidates scramble for constituencies". The private media also updated their readers on the coalition talks between the rival MDC factions and their failure to reach agreement to fight the elections as a united front and on the activities of minor opposition parties.

b) Administrative issues
The official media failed to provide informed and neutral coverage of important electoral procedures such as the voter registration and inspection exercises, the controversial transfer of voters from one ward to another, and the identity and location of inspection centres and polling stations. Instead, they polluted these stories with positive coverage of ZANU PF’s election preparations. The Herald (2/2) story, Voters’ roll inspection begins, provided a classic example of such professional chicanery. Its introduction read: "Inspection of the voters roll began yesterday as the country gets ready for ZANU PF primary elections which start today", giving the impression that the nation were inspecting the voters’ roll to participate in a ZANU PF election rather than a national one.

The voter education reports contained only superficial details on the mechanics of the electoral process. For example, there was no questioning why the electoral authorities would not release the number of polling stations or their location, or the unrealistically short periods provided for the inspection of the voters’ roll and the nomination of candidates. The Herald (31/1), for instance, simply cited Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede saying everyone should inspect the voters’ roll and "not wait for an extension as the time left before the elections is short" while ZBC (30/1, 6 & 8 pm) quoted him "ruling out an extension of the inspection period". Although The Herald and Chronicle (31/1) carried a supplement from the RG’s office listing voters’ inspection centres nationwide, including information on who is eligible to vote, requirements for registration and the transfer of voters from one ward to another, they carried no news or analysis of this on their news pages.

Earlier, The Herald (29/1) tried to justify government’s planned denial of international observers the right to observe the elections, saying "obviously the government had the right to turn away anyone with preconceived ideas about the electoral process and outcomes," adding that "no one should be surprised if they find themselves persona non grata". These reports were part of 35 reports the official media carried on the matter: ZBC (13) and government papers (22). The private papers continued to interrogate the way the authorities were planning the elections in 16 stories. Of these, seven appeared in the private electronic media and the rest in private papers. They cited civic and opposition parties raising concerns about the rushed manner in which the whole electoral process was being implemented.

Of particular concern were the short periods for the nomination of candidates and inspection of the voters’ roll; the inaccessibility of vital electoral information like the delimitation report and the capacity of the police and the Zimbabwe Election Commission to ensure the smooth running of the polls.

For instance the Financial Gazette quoted MDC’s Eddie Cross saying the nomination date set by Mugabe was part of a strategy worked out 10 months ago to shut out the opposition because "it is impossible for the opposition to get candidates registered for the poll by that date."

The Zimbabwe Independent (1/2) quoted Rindai Chipfunde from the local election watchdog, ZESN, arguing that the week provided for the inspection of the voters’ roll – which she claimed was the shortest she had ever known – was not enough following the introduction of new wards and constituencies. Moreover, she noted that the inspection time of between 7am and 6pm, would not allow the working class to check their names.

An MDC Manicaland provincial officer Prosper Mutseyami told SW Radio Africa (30/1) that most people in the province "do not know where to go to vote".

c) Political violence and vote-buying
The government media continued to ignore cases of politically motivated violence and vote-buying. Their 15 stories on the subject were either on police warnings against political violence during elections or on ruling party officials donating various goods to the electorate without interpreting it as vote-buying. For example, Spot FM (28/01, 6am) passively cited ZANU PF MP Abednico Ncube "castigating" local leaders in Matabeleland South for "politicising food aid to garner support in the forthcoming elections" without investigating the allegations. Only the private electronic media exposed ZANU PF’s electoral malpractices.

ZimOnline (31/1), for example, cited the alleged partisan distribution of relief aid to flood victims in Chipinge. It reported Chipinge South MP Enock Porusingazi as having instructed government and ruling party officials in the area as well as traditional leaders to "block all known opposition supporters from receiving aid". While SW Radio Africa (29/1) interpreted government’s plan to open "People’s shops" within 40 days, ostensibly to ease the suffering of low income earners, as a "blatant attempt by ZANU PF to control the distribution of food and basic commodities ahead of the elections", The Zimbabwean (28/1) reported ZANU PF clergyman Obadiah Msindo setting aside over 100 000 housing stands across the country in an "ambitious drive to garner votes for ZANU PF".

The private media recorded fresh incidents of political violence. These included the arrest and detention in Bulawayo of two student leaders for holding a meeting without police clearance (SW Radio Africa, 30/1) and the alleged harassment of Progressive Teachers’ Union members over its planned strike against poor salaries (Studio 7, 1/2). None the media appeared to respond to a Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition report (26/1) on the arrest and torture in custody in Harare of 26 human rights activists for demonstrating against deteriorating economic conditions.

The dominant coverage of ZANU PF activities in the government media was mirrored by their sourcing pattern as shown in Figs 1 and 2.

Fig 1: Voice distribution on ZBC

Fig 2: Voice distribution in government papers

The sourcing pattern of the private media, exemplified by the electronic media, is shown in Fig 3.

Fig 3: Voice distribution in the private electronic media

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