NEW: Elections manual for journalists

10 Nov, 2022 - 16:11 0 Views
NEW: Elections manual for journalists Mr Gandari

The ManicaPost

 

Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter

 

THE Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) is working on an election manual meant to create a conducive and peaceful environment that guarantees safety of journalists, accessibility of information and retooling as the nation moves toward the 2023 elections.

 

The document – dubbed Election Reporting and Peace Journalism Manual – is a product of gaps identified in various reports after on the role played by the media in the 2018 elections, where the media played a dual role in securing peace and fuelling conflict.

 

The manual, among other things, encourages journalists covering elections in the country to be familiar with the electoral system, electoral management commission, the voter registration process, voter information and education, media structure and set up, pre-polling environment and complaints, primaries and nomination of candidates, polling day and voting procedures, vote counting and compilation of results and post election events and complaints.

 

In an interview on the sidelines of a training workshop in Mutare, Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Chief Director: Government Programmes and Messaging, Mr Jonathan Gandari said ZMC is bringing all stakeholders involved in elections in Zimbabwe to discuss key intervention strategies and best practices to ensure fair coverage of the 2023 elections and safety of journalists.

 

“We are bringing all those institutions together to discuss key intervention strategies and best practices that will ensure the safety of journalists and fair coverage of elections so that the electorate will be able to get information which is relevant for them to make decisions during elections.

 

“There are a number of reasons why we have come up with this manual – there is a MISA report that was produced after the 2018 elections, which pointed to a number of deficiencies in the manner the media played its role. The reported pointed out that the electorate did not know much about the electoral processes like the voter registration, voting process and announcement of final results.

 

 

“We also have other internal reports by different organisations that pointed out areas that we needed to strengthen going forward. This intervention is meant to take care of those gaps and also to prepare our journalists to cover elections effectively. We need to retool and retrain journalists as part of the professional development,” he said.

 

Mr Gandari said they were still engaged various stakeholders over the draft manual after which they will take it to policymakers for buy-in, and then put in place mechanism and structures to ensure safety of journalists.

 

“We will require the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services and the security forces to be on top of the game. After this we are going to have meetings with these institutions, and we will take in their concerns while giving them concerns by journalists. Together in nation-building we should be find a way of protecting the journalists during the course of their work,’ said Mr Gandari.

 

The concerns from journalists include safety, security, retooling, training and access to information.

 

They have pointed at recent incidents where their colleagues were harassed and beaten at political gatherings.

 

“Journalists do not want a repeat of that and need an assurance that these things will not recur. The only way we can assure them of no repeat of the same things is by putting in place structures and institutions that will prevent that from happening.

 

One way to ensure this does not happen again is to have the police and journalists in the technical working group for preparing elections,” he said.

 

ZMC vice chairman, Mr Jasper Maphosa said the manual was a historic development in the media and political landscapes.
“It is historically located based in the developments of the past where we witnessed fake news, flouting of the electoral regulations as journalist announced election results before the electoral management body.

 

“We have also witnessed issues of fanning hate speech and hatred. The media has been under reporting on women, depicting them as the underdogs whose voices are not elevated.

 

“As we move towards the 2023 elections, we envisage a situation where journalists will be well equipped to tell the election story from a premise which respects democratic principles governing elections, respect the right to secrecy of voters and constitutional provisions in terms of the use of languages and avoidance of hate speech.

 

“We hope to see a changed media landscape in terms of reporting, fairness, objectivity, and a media that is well embedded in professional and ethical conduct,” he said.

 

Share This:

Sponsored Links

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds