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Daily Media Update 53
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
June 27, 2008

Election focus
Today, the two government dailies and its weekly regional paper, The Manica Post, portrayed the electoral process as progressing smoothly and predicted a ZANU PF victory today, despite the MDC pulling out of the election. They all insisted that the opposition's candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, was still a contender.

They made no attempt to independently discuss the implications of the MDC's decision on Zimbabwe's political and electoral crisis and dismissed growing regional and international condemnation of the conditions prevailing in the country, which are widely considered to be unsuitable for a democratic election.

These sentiments were reflected in the 33 reports the papers carried on election-related matters. Of these two were on poll administration, five on political violence and 27 on the parties' campaigns, ZANU PF (20), MDC (seven).

The Zimbabwe Independent and The Financial Gazette however, provided more realistic analysis of the electoral environment and questioned the legitimacy of the outcome of the poll in view of the escalating political violence and the uneven electoral playing field.

The papers carried 32 stories on the topic of which 10 were on poll administration, seven on political violence recording four new incidents, and the remainder (15) being critical analysis of the parties' positions in view of the MDC's election boycott.

Poll administration
The two stories the government papers published on the country's electoral management presented a picture of normalcy rather than the political crisis that it is. They quoted the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the police saying they were ready for the polls and expected a massive voter turnout.

The papers were not honest enough to report that this was a one-man election following the MDC's withdrawal citing violence among other things, and did not provide any informed analysis on the legitimacy of the poll under these circumstances.

The government papers continued to censor publicizing the details of the letter written by the MDC to ZEC advising them of Tsvangirai's withdrawal.

The government-controlled papers trivialized increasing regional and international concerns over the uneven electoral playing field and continuing political violence. President Mugabe set the tone for this contempt by telling a rally in Chitungwiza that Zimbabwe would not be forced to "violate its laws and cancel the presidential run-off by some African countries", saying that would not only be unfair but "completely lawless". He added: "We reject such moves, it does not matter where these are coming from but such suggestions are completely unacceptable."

He described the SADC and AU concerns (which have been suppressed in the government media) as " irresponsible and reckless" and warned that it could lead to the break-up of the regional grouping.

To back this up The Herald published a news "analysis" listing its own distorted version of events that it said put into perspective the "visible presence of the third force and other key players" who were part of "an onslaught and siege against Zimbabwe and President Mugabe in particular . . . " since the March 29 elections. Columnist Stephen Maimbodei claimed his list revealed the "illegal" regime-change agenda of the British and Americans "aided and abetted by their stooge here, MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai . . . " and how "they have managed to rope in some Africans who are now speaking against Mugabe". Similarly, the paper reported news of the Queen's decision to withdraw the knighthood bestowed on Mugabe in 1994 as "a blessing in disguise". It quoted an unnamed social commentator saying "decolonization . . . was a rejection of British value systems, and so . . . we simply see this as the removal of one of the last vestiges of colonialism". Deputy Information Minister, Bright Matonga, laughed off the rare dishonour, saying the knighthood "meant nothing to him and . . . means nothing to us as Zimbabweans".

In contrast, The Independent and The Financial Gazette (which appears to have become a weekly paper published on Fridays) reported that the "massive voter turnout" anticipated in the government papers, would be a result of coercion and force and quoted many Zimbabweans writing off the election as a "non-event" because Mugabe had corrupted the electoral process and had forced his opponent to withdraw. For example, the Independent quoted Army Major General Engelbert Rugeje telling a rally in Masvingo that soldiers would ensure that everyone voted for Mugabe. He allegedly said action would be taken against those who refuse to go to the polls.

The paper also quoted the US ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, saying it was likely that people would be forced to go and vote in order to "portray the one-man race as a credible election." MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa concurred, predicting that ZANU PF would plant fake MDC polling agents at polling stations to give the impression that the party was participating "in this sham in a desperate bid to secure some semblance of legitimacy . . . " Both private papers analysed the implications of the MDC withdrawal on the country's politics. They carried detailed stories highlighting growing international and regional pressure on Mugabe to postpone the election and negotiate a settlement with the MDC. For example, the Independent quoted Bulawayo Agenda director, Gorden Moyo, saying his decision to go ahead with the poll would further isolate Mugabe as the international community and SADC would not recognize the results.

Crisis Coalition's MacDonald Lewanika was reported saying even if Mugabe declares himself the winner, "nothing will change his illegitimate status" in the eyes of the world, including Africa. In an editorial the paper noted that the "cacophony of condemnation from the United Nations, his peers in the region, and local and international civic groups appeared to have no impact on the octogenarian strongman who has elected to take the straight and narrow route to retain power for himself" The paper however, observed that this demonstration of bravado was not sustainable and Mugabe was aware of it, which is why at a rally last Wednesday he had softened his stance with promises of dialogue with the opposition after the poll.

The Gazette also exposed ZANU PF 's arrogance when they quoted ZANU PF politburo member, Joshua Malinga, saying "nobody on this earth" could stop Mugabe from doing what he wanted and the international community was "wasting its time" by trying to stop him from going ahead with the presidential run-off. The paper also gave space to statements made by the UN Security Council and the SADC Ministerial Organ on Politics, Defence and Security condemning the prevailing political violence in the country, which they said did not allow for free and fair elections. The government papers censored all these statements.

The Independent said African leaders, including South African President Thabo Mbeki are expected to reject Mugabe's anticipated victory in today's run-off and that their rejection would compound his legitimacy crisis and leave him isolated and even more vulnerable to economic pressures. They quoted analysts saying they believed this would strengthen Mbeki's hand in his push for direct talks between Mugabe and Tsvangirai Both private papers reported that the local independent election watchdog organisation, ZESN, had withdrawn from observing the presidential run-off after the Justice Ministry had reduced the number of its observers from the 15 433 they wanted accredited to 500 and by Monday only 84 local observers had been accredited by ZEC. Noting that many of its observers from the March 29th elections had been victims of organized violence, ZESN said it would be "unable to fulfill its mandate to effectively observe the run-off". The Gazette also carried adverts from ZESN advising the electorate that it would not be observing the election, and from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions saying it would not accept the election outcome because it was flawed.

Party campaigns The Herald, the Chronicle and The Manica Post, continued to give front-page prominence to Mugabe's rallies in Manicaland Province and Chitungwiza where he dismissed African leaders' concerns over the political crisis in the country and accused the MDC of making "treasonous" utterances by "calling for war" in Zimbabwe. There was no attempt to establish when such calls were made by the MDC or to seek MDC comment. The papers saw nothing wrong with this threat when applied to the MDC (although it has never made such a comment) while ignoring Mugabe's own threats of a return to war if the MDC won the election. Such bias was brazenly presented in The Herald's front-page stories predicting "a massive voter turn-out" and certain victory for Mugabe.

Accompanying their stories was a splendidly oversized portrait of a defiant, fist-waving Mugabe, and bulleted headlines celebrating his 'successes' in the election campaign, such as "ZANU PF leads popular vote" and "A vote against sanctions, a vote for empowerment." All three government papers continued to report ZANU PF officials and security forces making more democratically subversive statements in support of ZANU PF's candidate. For example, The Manica Post quoted a Colonel Charles Muresherwa saying Mugabe would rule until "madhongi amera nyanga" (donkeys grew horns) and repeating the falsehood that the MDC wanted to return land to the whites. The two dailies reported ZANU PF chairman John Nkomo urging people to vote for ZANU PF. The private papers' stories focused largely on the context of the MDC pull-out and the political future of the country. The Gazette carried 10 ZANU PF campaign adverts and nine from the MDC emphasizing that they were not part of the election process today.

Political violence
The government papers published five reports on violence, recording one incident. These quoted the authorities exclusively blaming the MDC. Despite clear evidence of a government-sponsored campaign of violence against opposition supporters, The Herald and Chronicle passively quoted Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustino Mazango saying the police had deployed enough officers for the election and had issued a "strong warning to some MDC-T elements" that the police would deal with them if they disrupted the poll. He claimed, without providing evidence, that the MDC was using youths to commit crimes in its bid to disrupt and discredit the election. The police accused the MDC of "distributing flyers in Harare, discouraging voters from participating." The paper reported that five suspected MDC supporters had also been arrested in Gweru and had "confessed" that the party's leadership was planning to burn down polling stations so that "voters had no place to cast their votes." The MDC was not given space to respond to these allegations. The police, again without evidence, also made delusional and absurd allegations that the MDC was working with civic organisations, such as Women of Zimbabwe Arise, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), and the Zimbabwe Lawyers NGO Forum (sic) to stage violent demonstrations to disrupt the presidential run-off.

In contrast the Gazette and the Independent reported increased violence against MDC supporters and the electorate in general, especially in urban areas, by ZANU PF loyalists. They reported one death. For example the Gazette gave an eyewitness account of the violence committed by ZANU PF youths in Kuwadzana, Hatcliffe and Malborough. The Independent reported that suspected ZANU PF militia in Mhondoro had killed an MDC activist, Godfrey Mashaka, while 10 people in army uniforms were reported to have attacked the rural homestead of the MDC national organizing secretary, Elias Mudzuri, in Zaka. In another incident, the paper quoted the MDC provincial chairman for Chitungwiza, Martin Magaya saying political violence was rampant in the town.

The Independent also quoted the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights saying violence was on the increase in the country. "Cases are continuing to rise and there is no decrease in the number of injured people we are attending to. This week we have realised that serious injuries are coming from within urban areas," such as Epworth, Budiriro, Highfield and Dzivarasekwa, ZADHR was reported as saying. The Independent also reported an intensified crackdown on the private media by ZANU PF, which is allegedly intimidating vendors and newspaper distributors. They cited Munn Marketing Distributors, which has been forced to stop selling its publications, among them The Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard, the South African Mail and Guardian, the Sunday Times and Sunday Independent, and the Star, in Masvingo until after the election.

Fig 1 shows the sourcing patterns in the government-controlled dailies.

Fig 1: Voice distribution in The Herald, Chronicle and Manica Post

Fig 2: Voice distribution in Zimbabwe Independent and The Financial Gazette

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