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This article participates on the following special index pages:
2008 harmonised elections - Index of articles
Statement
on the 2008 elections and accreditation of journalists
MISA-Zimbabwe
February 27, 2008
MISA-Zimbabwe
notes the confusion that has arisen on the legality of the recent
announcement by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) pertaining
to the accreditation of journalists and observers ahead of the general
elections slated for 29 March 2008.
In its public
notice, ZEC is demanding that it will only process the accreditation
of journalists that are accredited with the state-controlled Media
and Information Commission. Therein lies the source of the confusion
that has left several journalists lost on how best to proceed against
that conundrum as the MIC has since been stripped of such powers.
In fact, the MIC ceased to exist on 11 January 2008 when President
Robert Mugabe signed the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act No. 20
of 2007.
The MIC is a
creation of the repressive Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which was promulgated in 2002. However the
recent amendments to AIPPA did away with the MIC. In its place will
be the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) which will be composed of
nine members who shall all be appointed by the President from a
list of not fewer than 12 nominees submitted by the Parliamentary
Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
The ZMC which
is empowered with the accreditation of journalists is still to be
constituted.
It is therefore
MISA-Zimbabwe' s considered view that ZEC's position concerning
the accreditation of journalists is of no legal force as it is improper,
unprocedural and unnecessary in the circumstances for the following
reasons:
- According
to the extra-ordinary gazette of 11 January 2008, President Robert
Mugabe signed into law the Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Amendment Act No. 20 of 2007. It is that amendment
which did away with the MIC. Therefore anything purportedly done
by the MIC after 11 January 2008 should be declared null and void.
- The effect
of the coming into operation of the AIPPA Amendment is to bring
in the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC). However the ZMC has not
yet been constituted because parliament has taken a recess awaiting
dissolution on 28 March 2008. There is no accrediting authority
in place to issue the accreditation cards being demanded by ZEC
to facilitate the coverage of the elections by journalists.
MISA-Zimbabwe
further notes that journalists who were accredited before 11 January
2008 are privileged under AIPPA to cover national events. An election,
in our view, is one such national event which does not need further
accreditation by ZEC or any other body. ZEC's demands for the production
of MIC accreditation cards can only be viewed as attempts to curtail
scrutiny of the election process by restricting media freedom to
cover the 29 March 2008 general elections.
MISA-Zimbabwe
reiterates its position that the amendments made to AIPPA by the
ruling ZANU PF and the two factions of the opposition MDC did not
in anyway democratise the offending law in question. The amendments
were not only cosmetic but retained the same repressive clauses
that give the state the power to determine who can and cannot work
as a journalist in Zimbabwe.
A number of
journalists, both local and foreign, will fail to cover the elections.
This is compounded by ZEC's failure to decentralize the accreditation
of journalists which is only restricted to Harare and Bulawayo.
The failure of the media to operate freely will in turn mean that
the coming elections will not be free and fair as access to receive
and impart information is an integral element in the conduct of
free and fair elections. MISA-Zimbabwe reiterates that elections
are not an event but a process that begins with the preparations
and the electoral campaigns that should be covered by the media.
It is therefore
not the act of casting the ballot alone that determines the outcome
of an election but whether citizens were afforded an opportunity
to receive different messages pertaining to the elections. These
illegal actions by both the MIC and ZEC are a clear indication that
the March 2008 elections will not be free and fair.
The continued
existence of the Tafataona Mahoso led Media and Information Commission
is not only illegal but also an affront to media and freedom of
expression rights.
Visit
the MISA-Zimbabwe fact
sheet
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