In an interview with The Zimbabwean, ZBC spokesperson Sivukile Simango said: “We will have programmes where all political parties are given the platform to campaign – on all four radio stations and two television channels.” ZBC, the country’s sole broadcaster, has in the past been accused of being biased towards President Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF). Last week, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Rita Makarau called on media houses to adhere to provisions of the Electoral Act and urged the national broadcaster and the print media to treat all political parties and candidates equally.
Simango said ZBC was in the process of notifying ZEC of the broadcaster’s adherence to provisions in the Electoral Act specific to equal access of media space for all political parties, adding “We are also going to accept advertisements from all political parties as long as they conform to our editorial policy. We will not accept advertisements that violate our ethical standards and those that propagate hate speech or those that demean other political parties.” Civil society organisations, including the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, MISA Zimbabwe and the Media Monitoring Project, have repeatedly called for media reforms to address ZBC’s biased coverage.