Journalists faced accreditation hurdles in election coverage: MISA Zimbabwe
Grace Moyo
Local and foreign journalists faced challenges in relation to accreditation by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) with reports that some journalists were only accredited a few days from the polling day on 23 August 2023, a report by the Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe (MISA Zimbabwe) has revealed.
To cover elections in Zimbabwe, accreditation by the Zimbabwe Media Commission is not enough for journalists as they are also required to be accredited by the election management body, ZEC. Thus, for a journalist to have access to polling stations, they need dual accreditation by both ZMC and ZEC.
However, in its report titled ‘MISA Zimbabwe Way Forward Post-2023 Zimbabwe Elections,’ MISA Zimbabwe argues that the ZMC accreditation should be adequate for election coverage and if there is need for ZEC accreditation, it has to be free of charge.
“The issue of dual accreditation, wherein media practitioners accredited with the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) are requested to be accredited again with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for purposes of covering elections, remains of concern to MISA Zimbabwe.
The ZMC-issued accreditation card should suffice for media practitioners in Zimbabwe working for local and foreign media houses to undertake their professional work on election reporting.
Should there be a need for a separate and ZEC-specific accreditation, that accreditation should be processed without any requests for further payments.
Dual accreditation should, therefore, not be a deterrent for the media to effectively play its role in information dissemination, which is critical for the people of Zimbabwe to access election-related information to make informed decisions and choices.”
In addition, MISA Zimbabwe stressed the need to increase transparency and accountability in the accreditation process for both local and foreign media by, among other ways, leveraging on technological developments to introduce an online application process that allows for tracking the application and its status.
” The system should automatically highlight to the applicants whether the application has been successful and the reasons for the application’s failure.”
MISA Zimbabwe cited the case of three Kenyan journalists, Duncan Khaemba, Chris Omulando and their cameraman from the Nation Media Group, who were accredited to report on Zimbabwe’s election but had their equipment seized by authorities at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport upon arrival.
Even though they had been cleared by the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, the three were told they could only enter the country if they paid a deposit equivalent to half the purchasing price of the broadcasting equipment they had.
The three complied with the dual accreditation process and obtained the accreditation by the ZMC and ZEC.
Moreover, they were told they needed further accreditation from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. They left their equipment at the airport, assuming they would collect it when leaving Zimbabwe.
“However, they were to experience further unexplained delays in having their equipment returned to them as they exited the country. Due to this, they could not effectively report on the election, as they had to borrow equipment from local journalists, a less-than-ideal way of operating.”
MISA Zimbabwe defends and promotes media freedom, freedom of expression, digital rights and access to information in Zimbabwe.
