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Daily Media Update No.27
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
April 15, 2008

Post-election focus
The government-controlled dailies enjoyed their monopoly of the newspaper market today to present one-sided coverage of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's failure to announce the presidential election results in their reports, while attacking those critical of the delay in their opinion columns. Between them, the government papers carried 16 stories on the crisis in Zimbabwe, without viewing it as such.

The Herald and Chronicle reported the High Court ruling dismissing the urgent MDC (Tsvangirai) application seeking to force ZEC to release the election results, but made no attempt to seek independent expert opinion on the important implications of the decision.Instead, they simply reported the judge saying "the full judgment and reasons (for his ruling) would follow later", and quoted ZANU PF officials celebrating the decision. For example, the curiously titled "chairperson of the ZANU PF media committee", Patrick Chinamasa, was quoted saying the "MDC (Tsvangirai) application was doomed from the onset as they were trying to stampede ZEC to announce incorrect results in order to cause confusion." And Bright Matonga, identified as the Deputy Minister of Information, said the judgment "exonerates ZANU PF from unfounded allegations made by the MDC" that it was interfering with the electoral process.

The papers also reported Chinamasa claiming, ironically, that the MDC petition "was meant to cause a delay in the announcement of the results in order to portray the country as one in a crisis." But there was no effort to ask him on what basis he was making such an absurd claim.Nor was there any effort to obtain a sensible explanation for the extraordinary assertion in the ZEC lawyer's main argument that "it would be dangerous to give an order that may not be complied with in view of outside exigencies they (ZEC) are not able to control." The papers also censored news that the High Court was due to hear an application by the MDC today challenging the decision by ZEC to recount votes for the presidential and parliamentary election in 23 constituencies following complaints by ZANU PF, and notably, they carried ZEC advertisements for a second day inviting observers to the recount.

Both The Herald and Chronicle failed to report on the MDC's call for a national strike today except in the context of a police threat to deal "severely" with anyone breaking the law.

Instead, they passively allowed police chief spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena to perpetuate a damaging lie describing the MDC-T's democratic resistance committees as "their terror group . . . which carried (out) a campaign of petrol bombings last year," despite the fact that the State failed to secure a single conviction against the alleged bombers. In the same story that clearly aimed to portray the MDC-T as violent, the papers reported that some of the party's supporters in Glen View had "provoked" ZANU PF supporters while distributing flyers calling for the stay-away and this had triggered a clash, which resulted in one unidentified person being injured.

It was also not clear in the report how the ZANU PF supporters were provoked.

The Chronicle, in an editorial opinion, accused the business sector of having been "hired" to campaign for the opposition by inciting a protest vote. The two dailies also continued to portray voices critical of the delay in announcing presidential results as part of a conspiracy. For instance, the story, "Mwanawasa erred: Mnangagwa" only narrowly reported Emmerson Mnangagwa`s portrayal of the Zambian leader as having broken protocol by calling for a meeting on the Zimbabwe crisis without "following laid down procedures" and "prior consultation" with member states. It did not attempt explain the emergency nature of the summit, which would not have allowed time for such processes.

Similarly, an editorial in The Herald claimed that "an analysis" of British Premier Gordon Brown's statements criticizing Zimbabwe and calling for the urgent release of the election results, "shows clearly who the instigators and masterminds of the Lusaka summit (were) and why." It also linked Brown to unnamed "major British corporations" in Zimbabwe that have allegedly put the country under a "state of attempted siege".

Similarly, the Chronicle alleged the elections were not free and fair and accused the British of a conspiracy to "bribe the people of Zimbabwe into rejecting the leadership of Mugabe and ZANU PF" without providing a shred of evidence to support this absurd claim. The papers' also continued to downplay the main point of the SADC communiqué urging ZEC to "expeditiously" release the results of the presidential election, focusing instead on the favourable elements of the statement concluding that there was "neither a stalemate nor an impasse" and that government had been "commended" for the peaceful conduct of the elections.

Another Herald editorial railed against the Western media, accusing them of only reporting the MDC (Tsvangirai) perspective and not that of ZANU PF, without providing any evidence to support the allegation. It ignored the fact that government has banned these organisations from operating in the country and that despite this these media regularly quote government and ZANU PF officials. Ironically, the article ignored the distortions and bias of the paper in which it appeared, which makes a habit of slavishly promoting ZANU PF, suppresses unfavourable news and alternative points of view, and frequently distorts the facts, as this report illustrates so vividly.

It also emerged in today's dailies that MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, had not attempted to hijack the SADC summit by trying to address the region's leaders, as was implied in yesterday's Herald (14/4). Today's edition inadvertently noted that Tsvangirai, as well as losing presidential aspirant, Simba Makoni, had actually been included on the agenda by the summit organizers and that it was only after discussions that the leaders agreed to bar Makoni and Tsvangirai from addressing them as this, "was tantamount to elevating opposition politicians to the status of heads of state and government."

The Herald (14/4) had reported that Tsvangirai had been denied the opportunity to address the summit and that he had not been invited. The Chronicle reported the court appearances of two journalists arrested for electoral related crimes. It reported that British journalist Jonathan Michael Clayton had been arrested for allegedly making a false declaration on arrival in Zimbabwe and that the court would rule today on whether he had a case to answer. The other story reported that Margaret Ann Kriel appeared in court facing charges of practising as a journalist without accreditation in Bulawayo, in contravention of a section of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Fig 1: Voice distribution in The Herald and Chronicle

ZBC continued to confine coverage of the country's post-election crisis to highlighting ZANU PF and official sentiment on the matter while blacking out alternative opinion. As a result, none of the 13 stories it carried on the topic gave an independent and balanced perspective of the post-election tension, triggered by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's failure to release of the presidential election results and ZANU PF's demands for recounts in 23 constituencies, alleging vote tampering. For example, the national public broadcaster appeared unaware of the governance vacuum that exists as a result of ZEC's decision to continue withholding the results more than two weeks after polling. This has become especially worrisome in view of the growing number of reports of post-election retribution against perceived opposition supporters by suspected ZANU PF supporters and state security agents countrywide.

ZBC also censored news of the national strike called by the MDC to protest against the delayed announcement of the presidential poll. On the contrary, it remained content to feed on official statements discrediting the opposition and justifying the delay in the release of the election results. This was evidenced by the way ZBC continued to publicize stale propaganda alleging the MDC's vote rigging, while highlighting only the favourable aspects of last Saturday's SADC leaders' summit communiqué. ZANU PF's demands for a recount in 23 constituencies was also narrowly interpreted to justify the High Court's dismissal today of the MDC's urgent petition seeking the immediate release of the presidential election results.For example, instead of giving balanced views on the High Court's decision, ZTV and Spot FM (8pm) limited themselves to reporting ZANU PF's Patrick Chinamasa accusing the MDC of trying to "stampede" the electoral authorities into announcing "a wrong result and to cause a false image of a Zimbabwe in crisis". Said Chinamasa: "It (MDC) wants to precipitate a crisis in Zimbabwe . . . it is very clear that the MDC does not want the Electoral Commission to announce correct figures."

No alternative comments, including those from the MDC were sought.

Similarly, there was no break in the way ZBC continued to report the outcome of the emergency SADC summit, which the broadcaster maintained represented a diplomatic victory for Zimbabwe and a nightmarish experience for the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai.For example, ZTV and Spot FM's reports (8pm) drowned the regional leaders' advice to have the results "expeditiously released" with official comments from Emmerson Mnangagwa, one of President Mugabe's representatives, hailing the SADC ruling that "there is neither a stalemate nor an impasse in the electoral process in Zimbabwe".

No effort to reconcile these two positions was made.

Instead, ZBC diplomatic correspondent Judith Makwanya told Spot FM's audiences: "The Zimbabwe delegation explained the various legal processes that are currently underway which had caused the delay in the announcement of the results and refuted suggestions that the government was in any way responsible for the delay."

In contrast, the private electronic media reported heightened tension in the country as a result of a violent campaign of retribution against hundreds of opposition supporters countrywide following ZANU PF's losses in the March 29 polls and MDC's planned mass protests. In the first publicised cases of fatalities from such crackdowns, SW Radio Africa reported the beating to death of two opposition activists, Tapiwa Mbwada from Karoi and an unnamed teacher in Mashonaland East, by suspected war veterans and ZANU PF militia. In addition, it reported on the abduction of eight women from Mashonaland East.

The private radio station report lacked police confirmation, although it cited Ian Makone, a top aide to MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, attesting to the attacks, saying: "The scale of beatings in most rural areas are so shocking the victims can barely walk or talk."

The private electronic media also highlighted widespread disillusionment with SADC leaders' insipid reaction to the political crisis in Zimbabwe, especially the declaration by South African President Thabo Mbeki claiming there was no crisis in the country, despite evidence of violence, arrests, and the persecution of opposition supporters, farmers and journalists in the post-election period. This was reflected in 17 stories they carried on the subject. Studio 7, for example, reported Tsvangirai's MDC describing Mbeki's comments as "reckless", and a civic grouping, the Democratic Alternative, telling journalists in Pretoria that the South African leader had become "a joke". The station reported Mbeki as having received domestic criticism too, after the country's Speaker of Parliament, Baleka Mbete, described Harare's suppression of the election results as "a democratic process gone wrong".

The private electronic media more accurately updated their audiences on the outcome of the SADC summit. In one story, Studio 7 reported that although the leaders had "urged" ZEC to release the presidential results they had "significantly failed" to take the authorities to task for the delay, widely believed to be at the instigation of ZANU PF.

In addition, the private electronic media publicised the MDC's call for a national strike to press for the immediate release of the election result following its failed High Court petition to do so. SW Radio Africa also quoted MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa saying the MDC would not accept ZEC's decision to go ahead with a partial recount because "ZEC has been in custody of the ballot boxes for two weeks and heaven knows what they have done to the ballot papers".

Figs 1 and 2 show the sourcing patterns of the public and private electronic media.

Fig 1: Voice distribution on ZBC

Fig 2: Voice distribution in the private electronic media

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