POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
COURSE
POLITICAL
COMMUNICATION AND
REPORTING ELECTIONS
IN ZAMBIA
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION AND
REPORTING ELECTIONS IN ZAMBIA
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION INTENSIVE COURSE
HELD IN DAR ES SALAAM
PRESENTED BY: EUSTACE NKANDU – LECTURER IN
JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION –
UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA – DEPARTMENT OF MASS
COMMUNICATION
JUNE 2010
OUTLINE OF THE
PRESENTATION
1. State of political communication in Zambia
3. Coverage of politics in Zambia
2. Electoral (Code of Conduct) Regulations,
2006
3. ZNBC Guidelines and Principles for coverage of elections
4. Findings of the 2008 presidential by elections study
STATE OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN
ZAMBIA
Major form of political communication is the
mediated type. It is very difficult for
people to stage demonstrations or simply to
assemble to express their opinions.
Members of the opposition parties and other
people with dissenting views are blocked
from meeting in public
POLITICAL COMMINICATION IN ZAMBIA
CONT’
The law (Public order Act) requires that
people intending to hold public
gatherings should notify the police 7 days
in advance but the police always deny
organisers the permit to do so. But
members of the ruling party stage
demonstrations at will
Media coverage of politics in Zambia
Polarisation of the media is highly evident
especially the print media.
The public media is used to dispel the
perceived negative or critical coverage of the
government in the private media while at the
same time being used to project a positive
image of the government.
Media coverage of politics in Zambia
The private media on the other hand grants
massive coverage to the opposition
political parties and those with dissenting
views in a bid to strike some semblance of
equal coverage.
Media coverage of politics in Zambia
The current media situation is not helping
citizens to make informed decisions and
choices because of the extreme positions
taken by the print media.
The media have created the image that has
portrayed political tension in Zambia.
Mediated political communication in
the electronic media
The private electronic media have created
platforms for citizen participation by
broadcasting discussion programs on various
political topics. Almost all private radio and
TV stations have live phone in programs. But
ZNBC, both radio and TV has banned all
phone in programs of political nature.
Summary: Electoral Code of Conduct
2006
Duties of the media in Zambia
All print and electronic media shall –
Provide fair and balanced reporting of the
campaigns, policies, meetings, rallies and
press conferences of all registered
political parties and candidates during the
period of campaigning
All print and electronic media shall
Provide news of the electoral
process up to the declaration of
results
 Abide by regional codes of conduct in the
coverage of elections provided that such
guidelines are not in conflict with this code

All media organizations shall Endeavour
to
Report election news in an accurate
manner and not make any abusive
editorial comment, incite violence or
advocate hatred based on race,
ethnicity, tribe, gender, political or
religious conviction
All media organizations shall Endeavour
to
Heads and other senior management
staff of public or private media
organizations shall not intimidate media
practitioners and shall allow them to
exercise professional judgment without
undue influence
All public and private media personnel
shall
Conduct interviews with candidates with
fairness both in the style of the interview
and in the amount of the time given
All public and private media personnel
shall
Refrain from broadcasting their own
political opinion, commentary or
assessment; and where they wish to do
so, they shall clearly identify the opinion,
commentary or assessment as their own
and shall carefully balance it in order to
avoid bias.
ZNBC Guidelines and Principles for
coverage of elections
The aim of election coverage is to ensure
that the electorate is empowered to make
an informed choice. The public is entitled
to accurate, fair, impartial and balanced
information about the election
procedures, and the positions of political
parties/independents and/or candidates on
ZNBC Guidelines and Principles for
coverage of elections
ZNBC will provide opportunities for the
public to take part in political debates on
election issues. Producers of such
broadcasts must be as representative as
possible of different views and sectors of
society
ZNBC Guidelines and Principles for
coverage of elections
ZNBC shall regard with caution any
statement or action by an official of an
incumbent party and need to check
thoroughly whether for example public
appearances of Government officials are
strictly on government business or part of
their election campaign
ZNBC Guidelines and Principles for coverage
of elections
ZNBC will make sure that any impression
of one-sidedness is avoided in all
programming. ZNBC will act and be
seen to be acting in a fair and
independent manner and not influenced
by political or other interests
ZNBC Guidelines and Principles for
coverage of elections
ZNBC will afford political parties and/or
candidates the right of reply where a
report aired under the editorial
responsibility of the broadcaster contains
inaccurate information or unfair criticism
based on a distortion of facts.
ZNBC Guidelines and Principles for
coverage of elections
ZNBC shall not broadcast views that
could incite violence or advocate hatred
that is based on race, ethnicity, gender,
religion or political conviction and
that constitute incitement to cause harm
Findings of the 2008 presidential by
elections study
The study was commissioned by MISA
Key findings:
Polarisation of the media during election
campaigns was very evident and it has
continued to characterise election reporting
KEY FINDINGS
Both the quantitative and qualitative
analyses showed that there was
considerable amount of bias and in
some cases lack of objectivity in the
way the media coverage of the
elections was done
KEY FINDINGS
Reportage based on political inclination
was conspicuous.
The public media favoured the party in
government while the private media
favoured the opposition parties in their
coverage of election campaign activities.
Number of stories in the Zambia Daily
Mail (Quantitative analysis)
Party
Number of stories
Percentage
MMD
19
63.3
PF
8
26.7
UPND
3
10
HP
0
0.0
TOTAL
30
100.0
Number of stories quoting Presidential
candidates: Zambia Daily Mail
Candidates name
Number of stories
Percentage
Mr. Rupiah Banda
(MMD)
11
61
Mr. Hakainde
Hichilema (UPND)
2
11
Mr. Michael Sata (PF)
5
28
Brig. Gen. Godfrey
Miyanda (HP)
0
0
TOTAL
18
100.0
Number of election stories: ZNBC
Party
Number of stories
Percentage
MMD
26
65.5
PF
8
20.0
UPND
5
12.5
HP
1
2.5
TOTAL
40
100.0
Number of stories quoting candidates ZNBC
Candidate’s Name
Number of stories
Percentage
Mr. Rupiah Banda
(MMD)
11
58
Mr. Michael Sata (PF)
4
21
Mr. Hakainde
Hichilema (UPND)
4
21
Brig. Gen. Godfrey
Miyanda (HP)
0
0
TOTAL
19
100.0
Number of stories with pictures - ZNBC
Party
Number of Pictures
Percentage
MMD
16
72.7
PF
4
18.2
UPND
2
9.1
HP
0
0.0
TOTAL
22
100.0
Number of stories: Post Newspaper
Party
Number of stories
Percentage
PF
18
41.9
MMD
15
34.9
UPND
9
20.9
HP
1
2.3
TOTAL
43
100.0
Number of stories quoting candidates – Post
Newspaper
Candidate’s Name
Number of stories
Percentage
Mr. Rupiah Banda
(MMD)
8
40
Mr. Michael Sata (PF)
6
30
Mr. Hakainde
Hichilema
5
25
Brig. Gen. Godfrey
Miyanda
1
5
TOTAL
20
100.0
Quantitative Analysis
Headlines and nature of stories
The 2008 coverage of elections was
characterised by a number of what could be
Termed as “opinionated or suggestive”
headlines. The stories in the public media
openly showed bright prospects for the
ruling party
THE END
FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE
ANALYSIS OF MEDIA COVERAGE OF
ELECTIONS CHECK:
“ZAMBIA’S MEDIA WARS: AN
ANALYSIS OF MEDIA COVERAGE OF
2008 PRESIDENTIAL BY – ELECTIONS
IN ZAMBIA – MISA PUBLICATION