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Walking the talk: Report on gender coverage by the media during Zimbabwe's 2008 harmonized election
MISA-Zimbabwe
October 2008

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Introduction and Background

This is a report on the assessment of the manner in which the media covered Zimbabwe's harmonized elections held on 29 March 2008. The findings of this report are based on the conceptualization of media as public sphere platforms through which members of the public from across the socio-economic and political divide can democratically access information and freely participate in political and socio-economic debates that are central to their welfare.

The report focuses on the period leading to these elections based on a sample of the country's media structure that includes privately controlled and state controlled media. The monitoring was conducted to gauge whether the Zimbabwean media have been able to Walk the Talk in terms of gender mainstreaming and upholding the principles of critical, balanced and objective reportage. The report also pays attention to how the media fared in covering electoral issues pertaining to the youth. It then makes recommendations on how the media in Zimbabwe can be maintained as critical and objective public sphere platforms that are acceptable to all citizens, regardless of their gender, and if not how the media can be transformed to play that role.

Background and Contextual Information

Taking place against a deepening political, social and economic crisis, the 29 March 2008 elections provided yet another spectacle through which keen world interest was focused on Zimbabwe. Against a background of an inflation of 800 000%, unemployment of over 80%, a collapsed health delivery system, shortages of basic commodities, human rights abuses, and a bout of other political and socio-economic problems, the elections took place in an atmosphere pregnant with eager anticipation for democratic and progressive change in the political, social and economic spheres.

This anticipation was against the background of a series of momentous political developments and events. Among these was the ZANU PF annual conference in December 2007. At this conference, the ZANU PF Politburo had tabled a proposal seeking the postponement of the 2008 presidential elections to 2010. The conference however, rejected the proposal, setting in motion a set of new developments that culminated in the holding of the harmonized elections on 29 March 2008. In the mix of these developments was the SADC initiated dialogue which brought ZANU PF and the two MDC formations to the negotiating table to discuss possible solutions to the Zimbabwean crisis.

The initiative came in the wake of the events of the 11 March 2007 during which leaders of the opposition and civic society were brutally assaulted by the police for organizing a national day of prayer rally in Harare's Highfield Township. Much to the dismay of the civic society, the SADC initiated dialogue did not yield much in so far as it related to the opening of Zimbabwe' constricted democratic space.

The passage of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (Number 18) Act through parliament was widely condemned as a reactionary product of the unmitigated dialogue initiative. The amendments to the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) that were effected in January 2008 did not do much in terms of paving way for the full enjoyment of the freedoms of expression, association and the right to access to information. While opposition political parties were given token access to flight their advertisements with state controlled media a few days before the March 29 elections, editorial coverage in these media largely remained biased in ZANU PF's favor.

With respect to media coverage, the prevailing atmosphere of autocracy was particularly displayed in the run-up of the presidential run-off election of 27 June 2008 when the opposition was exposed to a complete blackout by the country's sole broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). The blackout points to a situation in which the little coverage that was granted to the opposition in the run-up to the March 29 elections can only be surmised as having been a window-dressing act designed to placate the SADC electoral observer mission team into believing that the broadcaster was sticking to the SADC principles and guidelines for the holding of free and fair elections.

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