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Daily Media Update 54
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
June 28, 2008

Election Day focus
The government-controlled papers, Saturday Herald and Saturday Chronicle (28/6) gave a sanitized picture of the voting process in the presidential run-off election held yesterday. They claimed a "massive voter turnout" and presented polling as having progressed smoothly and peacefully and recording high voter turnout. They ignored reports of voter apathy and intimidation of the electorate in many areas by ZANU PF youths and militia reported in the private online agencies.

There was also no attempt by the papers to investigate how transparent the actual election process was. For example, there was no mention of whether there were polling agents from both parties represented at each polling station, or whether there were independent observers present too. There was also no attempt to identify the ZEC officials manning polling stations. These are supposed to civil servants, often school teachers. But according to private media reports, most civil servants refused to assist after the authorities persecuted many of ZEC's polling officers following the results of the March elections. There was also no attempt to establish how the vote would be verified in the absence of opposition polling agents and independent observers.

The Herald carried no news of the polling in the three constituencies (Gwanda South, Makokoba in Bulawayo, and Redcliff) where parliamentary by-elections were being held at the same time. The papers also distorted information surrounding the African Union summit in Egypt and the comments of the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai at a press briefing yesterday. They carried 16 reports on electoral issues.

Election administration
The Herald continued to make efforts to legitimize yesterday's election by deliberately persisting with the myth that Tsvangirai was still part of the contest. The newspaper's front-page lead once again stressed that Mugabe was competing against Tsvangirai, although its editorials focused on Tsvangirai's pull-out. The Herald's comment reinforced the idea of a huge voter turn-out by claiming that "initial reports from polling stations countrywide indicate that this would be the biggest turnout Zimbabwe has ever had" adding that this was a "slap in the face for detractors who claimed this was a "Mugabe election" that did not have the blessing of the generality of Zimbabweans."

This claim contradicted online agency reports of a low voter turnout, at least in urban areas, and even The Herald's own story provided evidence of voter apathy reporting polling station figures of between 75 and 400 voters. The paper also reported presiding officers saying the turnout was lower than that recorded in the March 29 elections.

The papers made no effort to investigate online agency claims that many people had been forced to go and vote by ZANU PF supporters who had threatened them with violence if they didn't comply. The government-controlled papers censored these reports. The Herald carried pictures of busy polling stations covering half a page.

The Chronicle's main story also reported that "hordes of people throughout the country snubbed Mr Tsvangirai and his masters led by the country's former colonizer, Britain, by turning out to vote". However, in the same story, the paper noted that its own survey indicated voter apathy in Bulawayo, adding that in Matabeleland North only Umguza had recorded a high voter turnout. The paper quoted a Silas Muzamba attributing the low turnout to MDC officials who allegedly went "round the wards spreading lies about the cancellation of the elections while some threatened those who entertained hopes of participating in the polls."

The official papers distorted statements from the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. For example, both dailies reported Tsvangirai "confirming" that "African leaders were working with his party, Britain and the United States to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe." The papers deliberately misrepresented Tsvangirai's statements that some African leaders were working with the MDC "towards finding a lasting solution to the Zimbabwe crisis" to mean illegal regime change. However, the papers did not give the full context of Tsvangirai's Election Day comments during which he called for an African Union-led settlement supported by SADC.

The Herald's Nathaniel Manheru also persisted with the conspiracy theory that the British were behind Tsvangirai's election pull-out and that it was part of a strategy to deny "Mugabe legitimacy and recognition, thus paving the way for greater sanctions this time with a veneer of international legitimacy".

In addition, the papers misrepresented information on the discussion of the African Union's foreign ministers meeting ahead of the AU heads of state summit on Monday. The Herald reported that the African Union had resisted "attempts by some members to blast Zimbabwe" preferring to wait for the outcome of the presidential run-off. It only emerged at the end of the story that representatives of Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone had opposed requests that Zimbabwe's foreign affairs minister be allowed to make a presentation that would specifically exclude any debate.

Political violence
Apart from carrying statements from the police that Election Day had been peaceful, The Saturday Chronicle carried one report in which 18 MDC officials had been arrested between Thursday and yesterday in Matabeleland North for allegedly carrying weapons "to be used in fanning violence". The report quoted Assistant Commissioner Edmore Veterai saying some of the MDC officials arrested were from Harare and Zvishavane. Veterai also added his voice to claims that MDC youths wielding weapons were intimidating some people from voting. The papers did not question Veterai's threats when he said "police were going to be forced to respond, 'to metal with metal."

Fig 1: Voice distribution in the Saturday Herald and Saturday Chronicle

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